Chris Stewart shot to fame with Driving Over Lemons in 1999. Funny, insightful and real, the book told the story of how he bought a peasant farm in a remote valley in Andalucia sited on the wrong side of the river, with no water or electricity, and with its previous owner still in residence.

The book became an international bestseller, along with its sequels, A Parrot in the Pepper Tree, The Almond Blossom Appreciation Society, and Last Days of the Bus Club, which continue the story of his good life abroad. Infused with his trademark gentle humour, optimism and zest for life, he takes us from his arrival in Andalucia to his daughter flying the nest for university and beyond.

In an earlier life, Chris was the original drummer in Genesis (he played on the first album – he’s the one on the far right, pouting, next to Peter Gabriel), then joined a circus, learnt how to shear sheep, went to China to write the Rough Guide, gained a pilot’s license in Los Angeles, and competed a course in French cooking. His previous book, Three Ways to Capsize a Boat, fills in his lost years skippering a yacht in the Greek islands and then crossing the North Atlantic.