Pagnol is someone you learn French simply to read. All the books (plays) that I've read of his are so true to place, so true to life that you walk with the characters, learn with them and invest yourself in their simple yet humanly complex lives.
La Fille du puisatier (The well-diggers daughter) is one such book. Think Shakespeare in Provence. Boy meets girl, second boy loves same girl, same girl's sister loves second boy, first boy's rich, girl is poor. An unfortunate (?) event, war, family, honor and a happy ending.
Upon this skeleton, Pagnol builds a rich and enlightening tale filled with suspense, humor, human frailty, and human valor, all beneath the sun-drenched Provencal sun.
It's summer here but I'm sure I'd feel just as warm reading this beneath a cold January moon. A little gem.