Tim (novel)

Tim is a novel by Australian writer Colleen McCullough, published by Harper and Row in 1974.
It portrays the story of the developing relationship between an older, middle-class woman, Mary Horton, who lives on her own and a handsome, developmentally impaired 24-year-old gardener, Tim Melville, whom she hires. 
It inspired the 1979 film of the same name, starring Piper Laurie and Mel Gibson and the 1996 Film "Mary & Tim" starring Candice Bergen and Tom McCarthy.