Under Magnolia

A Southern Memoir

By: Frances Mayes

Narrated by: Frances Mayes

A lyrical and evocative memoir from Frances Mayes, the Bard of Tuscany, about coming of age in the Deep South and the region’s powerful influence on her life.

The author of three beloved books about her life in Italy, including Under the Tuscan Sun and Every Day in Tuscany, Frances Mayes revisits the turning points that defined her early years in Fitzgerald, Georgia. With her signature style and grace, Mayes explores the power of landscape, the idea of home, and the lasting force of a chaotic and loving family. From her years as a spirited, secretive child, through her university studies—a period of exquisite freedom that imbued her with a profound appreciation of friendship and a love of travel—to her escape to a new life in California, Mayes exuberantly recreates the intense relationships of her past, recounting the bitter and sweet stories of her complicated family: her beautiful yet fragile mother, Frankye; her unpredictable father, Garbert; Daddy Jack, whose life Garbert saved; grandmother Mother Mayes; and the family maid, Frances’s confidant Willie Bell.

Under Magnolia is a searingly honest, humorous, and moving ode to family and place, and a thoughtful meditation on the ways they define us, or cause us to define ourselves. With acute sensory language, Mayes relishes the sweetness of the South, the smells and tastes at her family table, the fragrance of her hometown trees, and writes an unforgettable story of a girl whose perspicacity and dawning self-knowledge lead her out of the South and into the rest of the world, and then to a profound return home.

©2014 Frances Mayes (P)2014 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

A BookPage Best Book of the Year

Southern Independent Booksellers Association Spring 2014 Okra Pick

“The strength of Under Magnolia lies in the very claustrophobia Mayes aches to flee as a child…In certain heightened moments of this memoir, Mayes breathes the same air as [Carson] McCullers.” –New York Times Book Review

“As gothic as anything Faulkner could have dreamed up, populated by characters straight out of a Flannery O’Connor story…a thorny memoir that strips away the polite Southern masks, sweet magnolias be damned. Unforgettable.” – Atlanta Journal Constitution

“With perfect-pitch language, Mayes unblinkingly describes her growing-up years… One can almost taste the mushiness of ‘a pot of once-green beans falling apart in salt pork’; one can almost smell the cloying scent of honeysuckle, gardenias and overripe peaches that infuse the always-too-humid air.”– USA Today

France's Mayes is like a warm old friend.

Being from the South, "I GET" her. I have read her every published work. I actively look forward to many more, especially hoping for an "Every Day at Chatwood" I love reading her books, but I buy the audible file as well. A couple of her books are not narrated by her, something I hope will be corrected over time.

Frances has the best understanding of "time" than any author I've read. She talks of turning time over, bending time back, and only time providing clues about the real personality of a person you have known for years.

I'll never tire of her stories. They remind me of the old "story talkers" fom my youth. I'd do Martha Stewart Prison time to live next door to she and her husband.

Writing deserves a professional narrator

What made the experience of listening to Under Magnolia the most enjoyable?

The beauty of Frances Mayes writing is sensual, searching and compelling.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Under Magnolia?

The most memorable moments were the charged interactions with her father, who was alternately doting and abusive. I also enjoyed the spontaneous scenes. For example, as a teen-ager, she went swimming with a boyfriend, pulled off her suit while submerged and tied it to her foot as she swam to the next shoreline before tugging it back on. Such passages pull one in!

How could the performance have been better?

Frances Maye's writing reveals a passionate and spunky girl coming of age, and her eloquence is delightful. I would have liked to heard this narrated by a skilled voice talent who could have imbued the words with their inherent spark. I found the author's voice to be rather flat and plaintive, belying the verve of her true character.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Sadly, there was little heart in her family. Frances Mayes takes risks and writes of herself and her family members frankly. But the dynamics of despair and blaming cast a pall of inertness, despite the drama of hurtful fights.

Any additional comments?

I'd imagine those who grew up in a family stressed by alcoholism might well appreciate the author's insightfulness. Furthermore, her vivid descriptions evoke the South with warmth, subtlety and spice. Personally, I did not complete the book. My sense was that the author fled the family rather than outgrew it, and her risks are those of impulsivity rather than a process of evolving commitment. That said, she clearly is a disciplined and highly talented writer who grows through exploring her charged back history. If others' endorsement of this book speak to you, I recommend you check it out.