How often have you eaten a mushroom that you picked yourself that morning? Or sat on a boat opening and eating oysters as you lift them from the sea? Or partaken of a seven course feast of game to celebrate the success of the chasse?

When Patricia Atkinson - bestselling author of The Ripening Sun - first moved to France, her intention was simply to establish a vineyard. Over the years, however, she found herself becoming integrated into a way of life that, had she stayed in England, she would hardly have believed existed. Grounded in the rhythms of the land and the seasons, daily life in Patricia's south-western corner of France is dictated by a series of rituals and celebrations that we have long lost in our supermarket age.

La Belle Saison is Patricia's eulogy to this way of life: a testament to the timelessness of the beautiful French countryside, the bounty of the land, and the generous-hearted French neighbours who showed Patricia that a simple life has many rewards. In France, every season is 'la belle saison', offering up its gifts to those willing to appreciate and look after the land. Prasie for The Ripening Sun:

'This is the genuine article - written with real charm and passion for life, the land and everything that lives on it' Joanne Harris

'This is a heroic story, beautifully written, like smelling the grapes. It is immensely humane and funny too' Jilly Cooper

'The most striking story of la vrai vie rustique francaise since Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence' Malcolm Gluck, Guardian

'Remarkable... an extraordinarily affecting read' Carla McKay, Daily Mail