He moved to France in his 40s, planning to write a novel. He had previously worked in advertising and publishing. He loved his adopted country, and ended up sending his literary agent a long letter explaining why he hadn't started work on the novel, and describing daily life in Provence. The agent wrote back, saying that if Mayle could do another 250 pages like that letter, he might be able to find a publisher for it. "A Year in Provence" was released in 1989, sold millions of copies, and was adapted into a BBC miniseries.