For those of us who think of Julia Child as a Master Chef, THE SECRET WAR OF JULIA CHILD, by Diana R. Chambers introduces readers to who she was before she mastered French cooking. By age thirty she had lost her beloved mother and a man had broken her heart. The time had come to get away from her opinionated father and to make her own way in the world. From a life of privilege in California and a brief time in New York City, she relocated to Washington, DC to work for the OSS as first a file clerk and then as the head of the secret File Registry. Ambitious and determined, she wanted more. She wanted to be in the field. Because she was six feet and two inches tall, she was definitely noticeable and incognito positions would not work for her. However, she had skills and gumption. They served her and her country well.
THE SECRET WAR OF JULIA CHILD is a work of historical fiction. It is an imagining of her time in the Pacific theater during the last years of WW II. Readers follow her travels to South Asia Ceylon, India and then China. There is a large cast of characters, some actual people and some fictional. One who was very real was the man she fell deeply in love with, Paul Child. He, too, was a fascinating and accomplished individual. Their relationship is beautifully depicted. There is danger and intrigue throughout the entire story and nothing is sugar-coated. Vividly brought to life are the exotic settings as well as the complex political relationships.
Deeply and impeccably researched, I found this book to be engrossing and fascinating. Was Julia Child actually a spy? Readers will have to form their opinion after reading this skillfully told story. Highly recommended.
Before she mastered the art of French cooking in midlife, Julia Child found herself working in the secrets trade in Asia during World War II, a journey that will delight both historical fiction fans and lovers of America's most beloved chef, revealing how the war made her into the icon we know now.
Single, 6 foot 2, and thirty years old, Julia McWilliams 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 secret File Registry as part of the Office of Strategic Services.
The wartime journey takes her to South Asia's remote front lines of then-Ceylon, India, and China, where she finds purpose, adventure, self-knowledge – and love with mapmaker Paul Child. The spotlight has rarely shone on this fascinating period of time in the life of ("I'm not a spy") 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 the impact she'll eventually impart.
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