SOURCE: "How Pleasant It Is to Have Money," in The New York Times Book Review, May 31, 1992, p. 37.

In the following review, Grimes acknowledges Mayle's wit and ability to entertain but asserts that some of his pieces in Acquired Tastes, originally published in England as Expensive Habits, seem strained.

Back in the high-flying 1980's, GQ magazine handed Peter Mayle a dream assignment: "Go forth and mingle with the wealthy. Do as they do, providing you obtain clearance from the Accounts Department first, and report back." Mr. Mayle, the author of A Year in Provence and Toujours Provence, needed no further prodding, as [Acquired Tastes: A Beginner's Guide to Serious Pleasures] makes clear. His credit card smoking with constant use, he filed monthly columns on the pleasures of buying a pair of $1,300 "hand-cut, hand-stitched, hand-built shoes" in London; a $350 custom-made shirt at Charvet in Paris; and hand-tailored suits at Douglas...