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Writing Made Them Rich #5: Peter Mayle by Michael Southon
Writing Made Them Rich #5: Peter Mayle
by Michael Southon
Peter Mayle was born in England in 1939.
His fascination with France began at the age of
seventeen when, as the 'lowliest trainee' in Shell, he
was instructed to accompany his boss - a Mr. Jenkins -
on a trip to Paris, and discovered that there was more
to life than fish-and-chips. Jenkins, needless to say,
was a caricature of the Englishman abroad
("personally, I never eat anything I can't
pronounce").
In his twenties he went to New York and became
advertising copywriter for David Ogilvy. He later
returned to England to a comfortable life in
advertising, with a salary higher than the Prime
Minister's.
At age 35, after 'one committee meeting too many', he
left his career as an advertising executive and moved
with his wife and children to Devon in the south of
England to write children's books.
In 1974 one of his books - 'Where Did I Come From' -
became a best-seller, but because of an unfavorable
deal with the publisher, the book didn't make him
wealthy.
In his late 40's Peter Mayle moved with his third wife
to Provence in the south of France, where they
renovated an old farmhouse.
Their experiences became the subject for 'A Year in
Provence' which was an instant success and spent three
years on the New York Times best-seller list. It was
translated into twenty languages and turned into a BBC
series.
'A Year in Provence' was followed by 'Toujours
Provence' and 'Encore Provence'.
But his new-found fame came at a cost. Hordes of
tourists and reporters descended on Provence looking
for the writer and his house.
Not realizing the book would become a best-seller,
Peter Mayle had given an accurate description of the
location of his house in the opening pages of 'A Year
In Provence'.
Plagued with unwanted visitors, and suddenly unpopular
with the locals, Peter Mayle fled with his wife to Long Island.
Four years later, when the hue and cry had died down,
he returned to France and bought a large house near
Avignon.
Peter Mayle's success with the Provence books spawned
a new genre in travel writing - books by Englishmen
who leave the cold wet island, set up house in
sunnier climes and then write about the curious habits
of the locals. There's even a phrase for it: "Doing a
Peter Mayle".
You can get your copy of 'A Year in Provence' at:<br>
http://www.ezine-writer.com/mayle.html
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Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for
over 3 years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters
how to use this simple technique to build a successful
online business. Click here to find out more:
http://ultimateaffiliatecentre.com/hop.cgi?i=mhsouthon
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