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The Secret War of Julia Child

The Secret War of Julia Child

Author(s): Diana R Chambers

Location(s): Asia, Burma (Myanmar), China, India, Sri Lanka

Genre(s): Historical, Fiction

Era(s): WWII

Before she was Julia Child, the famed “French Chef” who stole hearts, she was Julia McWilliams. Thirty years old and directionless, Julia took a job working for America’s first espionage agency, years before cooking or Paris entered the picture. The Secret War of Julia Child traces Julia’s transformation from ambitious Pasadena blue blood to Washington, DC, file clerk, to head of General “Wild Bill” Donovan’s Registry of secret files for the Office of Strategic Services.

The wartime journey takes her to Asia’s remote frontlines of then-Ceylon, India, and China, where she finds purpose, adventure, self-knowledge – and love with mapmaker Paul Child. Not only do we see Julia’s origin story, but we see WWII’s “Forgotten War” in Asia. As she comes to understand the subtext of empire and colonialism, Julia awakens to international culture. And food!

The spotlight has rarely shone on this fascinating period in the life of (“I was only a file clerk”) Julia Child, and this lyrical story allows us to explore the unlikely world of a woman in a World War II spy station who has no idea of her eventual impact.

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