Try free for 30 days
-
The Olive Farm
- Narrated by: Carol Drinkwater
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Entertainment & Celebrities
Add to basket failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from Wish List failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for $29.96
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
People who bought this also bought...
-
The Olive Harvest
- By: Carol Drinkwater
- Narrated by: Carol Drinkwater
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Returning to their home after an extended absence, Carol and her husband, Michel, are looking forward to summer together on the farm. Then a shocking blow leaves Carol alone, and the future looks uncertain. The Olive Harvest takes us beyond the perimeters of her olive groves to where hunters, poets, beekeepers, boars and gypsies abide. In search of the language of troubadours, the dark and sometimes barbarous heart of Provence is revealed.
-
Return to the Olive Farm
- By: Carol Drinkwater
- Narrated by: Carol Drinkwater
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After 16 months of travelling round the Mediterranean in search of the ancient secrets of the olive tree, Carol returns to her beloved olive farm in the south of France. However, the homecoming celebrations are overshadowed by disturbing discoveries.
-
A Simple Act of Kindness
- By: Carol Drinkwater
- Narrated by: Carol Drinkwater
- Length: 3 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a devastating car accident, Carole escapes from an oppressive marriage in England to begin again in rural France. Yet she is haunted by the knowledge that Paul, her husband, has tracked her down before...and will do his best to do it again. Afraid to share her fears with her new neighbours, Carole nonetheless finds herself drawn to a local farmer, who helps her to create a new and independent life. But then she learns that Paul is on her trail and closing in fast....
-
The Olive Tree
- By: Carol Drinkwater
- Narrated by: Carol Drinkwater
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Olive Tree charts Carol Drinkwater's colourful and often dangerous journey in search of the routes that olive cultivation has taken over the centuries. Set during a springtime Mediterranean that is evocative and perennial, it is above all a tale of our time.
-
The House on the Edge of the Cliff
- By: Carol Drinkwater
- Narrated by: Carol Drinkwater
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No-one else knows what happened that summer. Or so she believes. Grace first came to France a lifetime ago. Young and full of dreams of adventure, she met two very different men. She fell under the spell of one. The other fell under hers. Until one summer night shattered everything. Now, Grace is living an idyllic life with her husband, sheltered from the world in a magnificent Provençal villa perched atop a windswept cliff. Every day she looks out over the sea - the only witness to that fateful night years ago. Until a stranger arrives at the house. A stranger who knows everything.
-
The Year of Living Danishly
- Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When she was suddenly given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, journalist and archetypal Londoner Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: the happiest place on earth isn't Disneyland but Denmark, a land often thought of by foreigners as consisting entirely of long, dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries. What is the secret to their success? Are happy Danes born or made?
-
-
hilariously funny
- By Anonymous User on 03-02-2020
-
The Olive Harvest
- By: Carol Drinkwater
- Narrated by: Carol Drinkwater
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Returning to their home after an extended absence, Carol and her husband, Michel, are looking forward to summer together on the farm. Then a shocking blow leaves Carol alone, and the future looks uncertain. The Olive Harvest takes us beyond the perimeters of her olive groves to where hunters, poets, beekeepers, boars and gypsies abide. In search of the language of troubadours, the dark and sometimes barbarous heart of Provence is revealed.
-
Return to the Olive Farm
- By: Carol Drinkwater
- Narrated by: Carol Drinkwater
- Length: 11 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After 16 months of travelling round the Mediterranean in search of the ancient secrets of the olive tree, Carol returns to her beloved olive farm in the south of France. However, the homecoming celebrations are overshadowed by disturbing discoveries.
-
A Simple Act of Kindness
- By: Carol Drinkwater
- Narrated by: Carol Drinkwater
- Length: 3 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a devastating car accident, Carole escapes from an oppressive marriage in England to begin again in rural France. Yet she is haunted by the knowledge that Paul, her husband, has tracked her down before...and will do his best to do it again. Afraid to share her fears with her new neighbours, Carole nonetheless finds herself drawn to a local farmer, who helps her to create a new and independent life. But then she learns that Paul is on her trail and closing in fast....
-
The Olive Tree
- By: Carol Drinkwater
- Narrated by: Carol Drinkwater
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Olive Tree charts Carol Drinkwater's colourful and often dangerous journey in search of the routes that olive cultivation has taken over the centuries. Set during a springtime Mediterranean that is evocative and perennial, it is above all a tale of our time.
-
The House on the Edge of the Cliff
- By: Carol Drinkwater
- Narrated by: Carol Drinkwater
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No-one else knows what happened that summer. Or so she believes. Grace first came to France a lifetime ago. Young and full of dreams of adventure, she met two very different men. She fell under the spell of one. The other fell under hers. Until one summer night shattered everything. Now, Grace is living an idyllic life with her husband, sheltered from the world in a magnificent Provençal villa perched atop a windswept cliff. Every day she looks out over the sea - the only witness to that fateful night years ago. Until a stranger arrives at the house. A stranger who knows everything.
-
The Year of Living Danishly
- Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country
- By: Helen Russell
- Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When she was suddenly given the opportunity of a new life in rural Jutland, journalist and archetypal Londoner Helen Russell discovered a startling statistic: the happiest place on earth isn't Disneyland but Denmark, a land often thought of by foreigners as consisting entirely of long, dark winters, cured herring, Lego and pastries. What is the secret to their success? Are happy Danes born or made?
-
-
hilariously funny
- By Anonymous User on 03-02-2020
-
The Lost Girl
- By: Carol Drinkwater
- Narrated by: Carol Drinkwater
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lizzie, the only daughter of celebrated war photographer Kurtiz Ross, went missing four years ago. Kurtiz and her ex-husband, Oliver, arrive in Paris following an unconfirmed sighting of their daughter. Oliver rushes to find her while Kurtiz waits, praying for a reunion. As sirens wail, Kurtiz finds comfort in Marguerite Courtenay - a glamorous former actress. As Marguerite distracts Kurtiz with stories of her life in postwar Provence, Kurtiz must confront her own ghosts and face up to home truths.
-
My Good Life in France
- In Pursuit of the Rural Dream
- By: Janine Marsh
- Narrated by: Esther Wane
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One grey dismal day, Janine Marsh was on a trip to northern France to pick up some cheap wine. She returned to England a few hours later having put in an offer on a rundown old barn in the rural Seven Valleys area of Pas de Calais. This was not something she'd expected or planned for. Janine eventually gave up her job in London to move with her husband to live the good life in France. Or so she hoped. While getting to grips with the locals and la vie Française, and renovating her dilapidated new house, a building lacking the comforts of mains drainage, heating, or proper rooms.
-
-
Loved this!
- By Anonymous User on 18-04-2022
-
Last Days of the Bus Club
- By: Chris Stewart
- Narrated by: Chris Stewart
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's two decades since Chris Stewart moved to his farm on the wrong side of a river in southern Spain and his daughter Chlöe is preparing to leave for university. We find Chris, a local literary celebrity, using his fame to help his old sheep-shearing partner find work on a raucous road trip; cooking a TV lunch for visiting British chef, Rick Stein; and, most movingly, visiting famine-stricken Niger for Oxfam.
-
-
Most entertaining
- By Meerkatwoman on 15-10-2017
-
East of Croydon
- By: Sue Perkins
- Narrated by: Sue Perkins
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A few years ago I was asked if I'd like to make a documentary on the Mekong River, travelling from the vast delta in Vietnam to the remote and snowy peaks of Tibet. Up until that point, the farthest east I'd been was Torremolinos, in the Costa Del Sol....
-
-
Loved it!
- By Anonymous User on 28-06-2019
-
My Four Seasons in France
- A Year of the Good Life
- By: Janine Marsh
- Narrated by: Susan Duerden
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A little over 10 years ago, Janine Marsh and her husband gave up their careers in London to chase the good life in the countryside of northern France. Having overcome the obstacles of starting to renovate her dream home - an ancient, dilapidated barn - and fitting in with the peculiarities of the locals, Janine is now the go-to expat in the area for those seeking to get to grips with a very different way of life. In this book, Janine regales us with the delights and dramas of a year attempting to live the rural idyll.
-
-
narration almost stopped me.
- By Narelle Kennedy on 18-04-2022
-
Bella Figura
- How to Live, Love and Eat the Italian Way
- By: Kamin Mohammadi
- Narrated by: Kamin Mohammadi
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One woman's story of finding beauty and herself - and a practical guide to living a better life, the Italian way! Kamin Mohammadi, a magazine editor in London, should have been on top of the world. But after heartbreak and loneliness, the stress of her 'dream life' was ruining her physical and mental health. Gifted a ticket to freedom - a redundancy package and the offer of a friend's apartment in Florence - Kamin took a giant leap.
-
-
A beautiful, life-affirming story
- By Christine on 18-12-2018
Publisher's Summary
For many, Carol Drinkwater will be forever remembered for her part as the wholesome Helen Herriot in the television series All Creatures Great and Small.
But since being a successful actress in England, she has spent the past 13 years in France with her husband Michel. This is the story of her new life, of the trials and tribulations of acquiring an olive farm, restoring it, farming the olives, overcoming the heartaches of taking on a new French family and slowly coming to understand the workings and life of a vivacious Provencal community - opening the door to vibrant Mediterranean world....
More from the same
What listeners say about The Olive Farm
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- silkieweaver
- 09-05-2012
An enjoyable listen
Where does The Olive Farm rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I'd rank this title somewhere in the top third of all the books I've listened to.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Olive Farm?
I thought the most memorable scenes involved Carol dealing with forces outside her control -- French bureaucracy, the locals, various animals, storms and fires.
Which character – as performed by Carol Drinkwater – was your favorite?
I found it interesting that she is a much more complex character herself than the one she is most famous for portraying on television. She is not afraid to reveal her quirks.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, it was perfect in about one-hour bites, as I listened to it on my lunch hour.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- IreneTH
- 11-01-2012
courage and chaos
Where does The Olive Farm rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
In the personal memoir genre this book ranks very high.
What did you like best about this story?
the honesty of the author
What does Carol Drinkwater bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Carol Drinkwater's language, voice, and attention to detail.. She is an excellent and intelligent reader and uses language and description so well that you really can visualize her description of the area and all its attributes. This is a case, given her skills, that could only have been narrated by the author.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No.
Any additional comments?
I'm going to move on to the next olive book in her series.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- NathanHeinrich
- 29-06-2020
Carol Drinkwater is my Favorite Newly Discovered Author!
During these strange and challenging times of 2020’s pandemic, civil unrest and political turmoil, I desperately needed something to remind me what was real and what really mattered in life; The Olive Garden was just that beautiful reminder!
Set partly on the Mediterranean, in divine Southern France, this memoir of Carol Drinkwater’s early days, details the joys, struggles, heartbreaks and triumphs of reclaiming an abandoned villa and surrounding property complete with citrus and olive groves and transforming it into a productive, award winning, producer of olive oil.
Laugh, cry and hide under the covers in fear as Carol Drinkwater recounts this riveting tale in her own words in her own alluring voice!
The perfect antidote for fear. The perfect reason to exploit your own dreams. The exact reason why “biting off more than you can chew” is always the right thing to do when following your heart.
Listen and Love!
Thanks a million times Carol! I only hope to sit down and discuss this story with you in person one day over a dish of olive oil and a glass of Rosé.
Cheers!
- Nathan Heinrich
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Kindle Customer
- 17-06-2019
Read this book, rather than listen to it.
I enjoyed the author's story but I was surprised at the end to find she had also narrated the book. The author mentions in the book that she is an actress. However, I found her narration lacked emotional impact. There was little difference in tone between happy days/events versus trying/difficult days.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Heather Barney
- 09-05-2016
Most Pleasant
Would you listen to The Olive Farm again? Why?
I have listened to this book several times. It is beautiful. At first it made me want to move and have those same experiences then I realized that I need to create them in my own way, In my own home, with my own family. Love this book so much
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Sandra
- 05-11-2012
Travel, Romance and DIY
What did you love best about The Olive Farm?
I liked hearing about following their dreams and dealing with some tough odds to make things happen.
Any additional comments?
This is a good book for those who like hearing about living in a different country, travel also about a new love coming together. Written and narrated by the actress who was the wife in All Creatures Great and Small. Wanted the second book but it is not on audible so I will have to read it!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- sally j landers
- 23-01-2022
The best medicine
Provence 2023 a must. Tenacity, love and friends.Watching the series too, a tonic for any time .
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Nadene B Gillis
- 30-08-2021
Liquid sunshine!
This was a delightful audio experience which stayed with me when I was too busy to listen. The sights, sounds and smells of the south coast of France were all around me as I listened to the excellent narration by the author, Carol Drinkwater. I am looking forward to listening to the next book, Return to the Olive Farm, very soon.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- A. Landry
- 27-09-2019
Could have been so much better
Chose this book because who doesn't dream of owning a farm/vineyard in France or southern Italy? Ever since Under the Tuscan sun, Americans have been fascinated with the idea of leaving the US for a sun drenched property overlooking the Med. Problem here is the way she jumps around between matters of the farm and her acting life, and it is distracting. Add in that she appears to care for her dogs and then mentions nothing about their welfare and I came away thinking she was a bad/careless dog owner. She also tends to be a bit histrionic about every obstacle and I grew irritated with this helpless, frustrated approach she had to every challenge. Not what I, as a urban farmer, expect from someone who loves and works the land. When you own acreage and/or a farm, sh$t happens and trying to create drama out of small obstacles got tiring as the book went on. What was nice was her descriptions of the land and I felt myself seeing it through her eyes. Her tendency to overdramatizing everything hurt the charm of the book.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Virginia Sanden
- 01-10-2016
Delightful!
I read this book many years ago and Carol Drinkwater's warmth came shining through. So too her audible reading. As a lover and former owner in the South of France, all the places, things and people were deliciously familiar to me. I could smell the smells, taste the tastes. It made me long to return. Thank you
-
Overall

- chris
- 14-04-2011
A charming easy listener
One of the first audio books I bought was Peter Mayle's Year in Provence, having heard it on Radio 4's book of the week, and this is a return to similar territory but the with added interest of the development of an olive farm and the attendant technical and horticultural activities. The author narrator is an accomplished actress, who does an excellent job of bringing it all to life and overall it is a charming easy listener, which provided an interesting break from my usual crime and history diet.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- pamela
- 23-03-2015
long windedno
Would you try another book written by Carol Drinkwater or narrated by Carol Drinkwater?
no
Has The Olive Farm put you off other books in this genre?
yes
Would you be willing to try another one of Carol Drinkwater’s performances?
no
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
It was like reading a tourists guide book
Any additional comments?
if you are looking for a book with a good story this is not it
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Nichola H.
- 18-02-2021
real life in France
I enjoyed the story of starting a new life in France. The dream and the reality.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Amazon Customer
- 28-10-2011
Problem oriented story steps to farm south France
It's a story about international family (Irish woman & divorced French man w. family) buying almost ruined house together. In story house is situated between Cannes and Frejus. Story is the Irish womans point of view.
First summer they move in before they own house. It's made possible by pre-payment and scheduled buying agreement. Starting without water, electricity and leaking roof they manage to spend a summer without quarrels. In the end she get's to stage of starting olive garden.
It's quite like Peter Mayle's Year in provence, but it doesn't concentrate French-English confrontation and secrets of France like Mayle does a lot. It's more problems oriented like handling bying a property as (Irish) foreigner and owning house as foreigner and living abroad. So if you are even thinking bying house in France this is really worth of listening.
Sample is too short to tell enough of this book. If you liked the "Year in Provence" you most likely end up bying more than this first book. I liked it and it was easy enough to listen as not a native English speaker.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Chris Stanfield
- 17-02-2021
Highly recommended read
I bought this book on a special offer and I'm so glad I did, its well written and enchanting
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Autumn Rose
- 05-01-2021
Good story
This was an interesting story for me ...as a Francophile and the ups and downs of living in France!
However ...I got slightly exhausted by the descriptive writing being a tad OTT
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Jacqueline
- 04-12-2020
Loved it
Was special to experience their lives, their adventures. Will listen to the next one eagerly.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- A George
- 01-11-2020
Wonderfully written and read
Carol’s retelling of her story is memorising, the descriptions of the places and people make you feel you are there with her. It is a truly inspirational read and listening to it read by Carol add the most fantastic depth to the story - recommending to everyone who will listen
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall

- Celia
- 04-05-2011
The Olive Farm
A lovely easy ready. Really takes you to the hot countryside outside Cannes. Have not been able to put it down and definitely for anyone that craves sunshine and sunny days.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 21-11-2021
The olive farm
Totally captivated by this book. Beautifully written with many colourful descriptions. Can not wait to listen to the next book.
20 Best Fantasy Audiobooks
This genre is so full of talent, it can be difficult to know what to listen to next — so look no further than this list to get you started.



20 Best Nonfiction Audiobooks
From the entire history of humanity to astrophysics, to our gut and mental health, dig into this list and learn something new.



Best Australian Podcasts on Audible
Audible Original Podcasts are free for Audible members. Check out this list of home-grown content, from binge-worthy true crime to self-help.


