Audio extract
Author interview
Author Q&A
The Olive Farm is a double love story. It is a lyrical tale of the real-life romance between actrress Carol Drinkwater and Michel, a television producer, and of an abandoned Provencal olive farm - Appassioniata - which they fall in love with and buy. And as the olives turn from green to violet, luscious grape-purple to a deep succulent black, we are drawn seductively into Carol and Michel's vibrant Mediterranean world. We experience the highs and lows of Provencal life: the carnivals, customs and local cuisine; the threats of fire, the adoption of a menagerie of animals and a ready-made family; potential financial ruin as well as the thrill of harvesting your own olives by hand - especially when they are discovered to produce the finest extra-virgin olive oil.