1Q1A Frances Mayes Women in Sunlight

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another edition of the Avid Reader. Today our guest is Frances Mayes, author of Women in Sunlight, published just last week by Crown.Most of you already know Francis from her book Under the Tuscan Sun, on the NYT bestseller list for 142 weeks! And was a great movie, but she has written so many more, from Every Day in Tuscany, Bella Tuscany, In Tuscany, Bringing Tuscany Home, The Tuscan Sun cookbook, and others NOT dealing with Tuscany. Her books have been published in many languages and many of you remember the film version of Tuscan Sun starring Diane Lane back in 2003.Women in Sunlight portrays the story of four woman, one an outside narrator of sorts, Kit Raines, who observes, then joins three women of a certain age, Julia, Camille and Susan, who consider buying homes in an over 55 community, Cornwallis Meadows.Instead of giving in to this perfectly fine, but somewhat provincial manner in which to live out their golden years, the three instead venture to Tuscany and a ruin of a house which they restore and bring to live in so many ways. Their neighbor Kit, an author and poet, with a fine husband, also has a relationship with Margaret, no longer with us but certainly a presence in the novel.As in many of Mayes work, food, gardening, wine and the wonder and delights of Tuscany abound.