by Julia Child
First published 2010
Julia Child writes candid letters to her friend Avis DeVoto across decades of marriage and culinary discovery. The correspondence begins when Julia arrives in Paris as a diplomat's wife, uncertain about her path. She finds purpose in French cooking and begins the long struggle to create her cookbook. Avis becomes her unofficial literary agent and trusted confidant. The women share frank opinions about everything from cooking techniques to politics to sex. Julia's letters trace her evolution from newlywed to seasoned traveler as she follows her husband to postings in Nice, Germany, and Norway. The friendship deepens through honest exchanges about the frustrations of cookbook writing, the sorry state of American wine, and the social changes sweeping their country. Food historian Joan Reardon provides context for their remarkable exchange. These letters capture two intelligent women in their forties speaking without filter about food, life, and the world around them.
Genres: biography, friendship, 20th-century, cooking, 21st-century, food, food-writing, food-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: epistolary, found-family, slice-of-life
Setting: France, Germany, Nice, Norway, Paris
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
416 pages · Hardcover · Houghton Mifflin Harcourt