I am ashamed to admit that, after all the years I have lived in Provence, I have only recently discovered the writings of Lady Winifred Fortescue.

Like many, I was enchanted by the anecdotal stories of Carol Drinkwater, Peter Mayle and Chris Stewart in Spain, but nothing has quite touched me like the work of Lady Winifred Fortescue.

It was actually my sister-in-law who first introduced me to Lady Winifred Fortescue, after lending me a book called ‘Escape to Provence' by Maureen Emerson. The book told the true story of two very brave and resourceful women who lived in France in the years between the two World Wars, and their incredible acts of kindness and support for the French soldiers once the Army was mobilised. One was an American called Elizabeth Starr and the second was Winifred Fortescue - who originally moved to the area with her husband Sir John Fortescue, the King's Librarian, Archivist and historian of the British Army.

Their life at their ‘Domaine' in Magagnosc is described in Winifred's first book ‘ Perfume from Provence' which first came out in 1935 and was republished this May. After John's death in September 1932, she met Elizabeth Starr and the two women became good friends with Winifred (Peggy to her friends) selling the house in Magagnosc and buying another near her new friend in Opio.

More books followed - including ‘There's Rosemary, There's Rue', Winifred's autobiography and her life with John - and then four others charting the adventures she had with Elizabeth in Provence, on the coast near St Tropez and then in the mountains near the Meije glacier in the summer. Such wonderful experiences of culinary delights, delicious smells of intoxicating plants, and the humorous stories of encounters with the French country folk, are only too familiar to us even today. Everyone has a disaster story or two concerning builders, plumbing, or the two hour lunch break when nowhere is open except restaurants, which eventually we all come to love and appreciate. It is so comforting to read that this has been going on for generations, a culture steeped in traditional beliefs.

When the French Army was mobilised in September 1939, these incredible women stayed to help their adopted country in any way they could. They provided accommodation for the officers in their own homes and created centres in the villages for the soldiers to go for refreshments, a few games and first aid. As the army advanced up the mountains towards Italy, where previously the women has spent lazy relaxed summers, they drove up laden with blankets, food and medicines for them.

Eventually Winifred decide to flee to England, where she continued her work with wounded French soldiers who were unable to return to their country. Elizabeth stayed under the rule of Vichy France but sadly died before the war was over, so never saw Winifred again. Winifred finally returned to Opio after the war and immediately set out to raise funds to provide clothes and food for the local poor children. She died in April 1951 and is buried close to her friend Elizabeth in the village's cemetery.

For me, human stories have a much greater impact on historical events. By reading Maureen Emerson's excellent book, I have been inspired to go deeper and read all of Lady Fortescue's books and pass them on to a group of my friends who have also caught the ‘Winifred bug'. You can buy them second hand from Amazon and there is an excellent website describing Winifred's life and each book.

Last week, as a birthday treat, my sister-in-law took me along to experience the wonderful garden at Winifred's old house in Magagnosc now developed and tended by the current owner, the artist Valerie de Courcel. There are tours of the garden every Wednesday at 10am until the end of June and I would certainly recommend a visit. Valerie and her garden are truly inspirational.

I am now going further back in time and am currently immersed in ‘Queen Victoria and the Discovery of the Riviera' by Michael Nelson. I would certainly appreciate any more suggestions if anyone knows of other historical books on the area.

Susan Jeremy has blogged her own account of her time on the Cote d'Azur and FR2DAY will start featuring extracts from these over the coming months.