A season of secrets...
Celia Grey appears to have the perfect life: married to Dominic, the man of her dreams, and living on a glorious, thriving vineyard in the south of France. To celebrate their good fortune, she decides to throw a huge party.
When she is contacted by a stranger who claims to be her long-lost son, David, the newborn she gave up at twenty and has never spoken of since, Celia impulsively invites him for the weekend of celebrations - without mentioning it to her husband.
Despite his surprise, Dominic graciously welcomes David and his unexpected companion - but secretly he harbours doubts. Is David really Celia's son? And who is the mysterious young woman travelling with him?
Only Celia can decide how far she will go to hold everything together, to keep her perfect life from unravelling...One Summer in Provence is a story of betrayal and belonging, and of discovering love in unexpected places.
One Summer In Provence by Carol Drinkwater was published on 3 July 2025 by Corvus. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour
The novel opens with a quite shocking prologue, taking place in England in the summer of 1976. We are then taken to the South of France in the present day where Celia and her husband Dominic live on a vineyard. They are throwing a party, the weather is stifling hot and they are getting over the disappointments that occurred in their marriage before they moved out to France.
However, Celia has had a secret - one that relates to the prologue mentioned, dating back fifty years. She had a child and gave him up, and he's written a letter to her. Celia is very impulsive and although she's never told Dominic about the child, she invites David to their party. He doesn't attend alone.
This is a complex family drama set in such a glorious place. It is the ideal summer read, and the reader is transported to the French vineyards and the stifling heat
Beautifully written, evocative and emotionally rich. Drinkwater examines the intricacies of relationships and the effect of hidden secrets so well. Recommended by me.
Anglo-Irish actress Carol Drinkwater is perhaps still most familiar to audiences for her
award-winning portrayal of Helen Herriot in the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small. A popular and acclaimed author and film-maker as well, Carol has published nineteen books, and one Kindle Single, for both the adult and young adult markets. She is currently at work on her twenty-first title.
When she purchased a rundown property overlooking the Bay of Cannes in France, she discovered on the grounds sixty-eight, 400-year-old olive trees. Once the land was reclaimed and the olives pressed, Carol along with her French husband, Michel, became the producers of top-quality olive oil. Her series of memoirs, love stories, recounting her experiences on her farm (The Olive Farm, The Olive Season, The Olive Harvest and Return to the Olive Farm) have become international bestsellers. Carol's fascination with the olive tree extended to a seventeenth-month, solo Mediterranean journey in search of the tree's mythical secrets. The resulting travel books, The Olive Route and The Olive Tree, have inspired a five-part documentary films series entitled The Olive Route.
Carol has also been invited to work with UNESCO to help fund an Olive Heritage Trail around the Mediterranean with the dual goals of creating peace in the region and honouring the ancient heritage of the olive tree.
Instagram @carol4olivefarm