As Always, Julia by Joan Reardon

Story: 9
Presentation: 9
Total: 18
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Non Fiction
To Purchase

Blurb: With her outsize personality, Julia Child is known around the world by her first name alone. But despite that familiarity, how much do we really know of the inner Julia?


Now more than 200 letters exchanged between Julia and Avis DeVoto, her friend and unofficial literary agent memorably introduced in the hit movie Julie & Julia, open the window on Julia’s deepest thoughts and feelings. This riveting correspondence, in print for the first time, chronicles the blossoming of a unique and lifelong friendship between the two women and the turbulent process of Julia’s creation of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, one of the most influential cookbooks ever written.

Frank, bawdy, funny, exuberant, and occasionally agonized, these letters show Julia, first as a new bride in Paris, then becoming increasingly worldly and adventuresome as she follows her diplomat husband in his postings to Nice, Germany, and Norway.

With commentary by the noted food historian Joan Reardon, and covering topics as diverse as the lack of good wine in the United States, McCarthyism, and sexual mores, these astonishing letters show America on the verge of political, social, and gastronomic transformation.
Review: As I am a Julia Child fan, this collection of letters was a treat for me :)  I got such a kick out of reading the back and forth between these two wonderful women. The humor, the frustration, the little everyday things that we all take for granted. Tiny details about their lives that obviously meant something to them, so much so that they wanted to share the event with eachother.

While some of the letters were lost on me due to my age, others were engaing and frought with humor. So much so that I found myself laughing out loud. I have to say that I am thrilled to say that I learned a great deal from these two women and only wish that I could know more about them both. :) Their love for each other and their friendship is one that not many find in this life. It is something that should be treasured as these two women did :)