‘In her mid-thirties the author had it all: a successful career as a fashion editor, handsome boyfriend, fab flat in west London and a gorgeous array of shoes. But when her significant other leaves, she wonders if there is more to life than a collection of great accessories. So, she hangs up her Manolos and waves goodbye to her city lifestyle, moving to France to renovate a run-down house in rural Poitou-Charentes, western France.

There she encounters a host of new friends and unsuitable suitors, soon learning that true happiness can be found in the simplest of things – a bike ride through the countryside on a summer evening, or six glasses of pineau in a neighbour’s garden. If you’ve ever dreamed of chucking away your BlackBerry in favour of real blackberrying and downshifting to a simpler life abroad, Tout Sweet is ideal summer reading.’