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Already in the preface we learn that Alphonse Daudet bought an old mill, or rather a windmill, “in the heart of Provence”. The mill is so dilapidated that it is unusable, but Daudet buys it anyway to serve as inspiration for his writing. Although he had to leave Provence as a young man in search of work and a better life, in these short stories Daudet captures the landscapes of the south of France in a somewhat nostalgic and at the same time condescending way. Letters from My Mill is a collection of short stories set in Provence, in which Daudet humorously and picturesquely tries to convey to the reader the beauty of the south of France and rural life. The narrator of all the stories in the collection is in the first person and is actually addressing Parisian readers. After moving from the south of France to Paris, Daudet writes short allegorical stories about life in Provence and about travels to Corsica and Algeria. The stories are inspired by everyday life in the south of France. as well as Provençal folk tales that often describe people's occupations (as in the story The Beaucairn Mail Carriage) and the fauna and flora of Provence (such as the story The Move). The stories are characterized by a mixture of sadness and cheerfulness, pity and ridicule. While he often describes nature in a pastoral manner, in his dealings with people he can present the interlocutors or subjects of the story as caricatures.