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ABOUT THE BOOK
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, six foot two, 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 the Far East, to 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.
OPENING LINES
“It was in Asia that her taste buds came alive— all her senses, to be frank. Every day was a discovery.”
GUEST REVIEW BY SOPHIA ROSE
Imagine it! Chef Julia Child as a spy…
First encountering Julia Child when PBS ran her cooking show as a rerun and then later spying her life’s magnum opus, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I was excited to be taken back through Diana Chambers’ artful writing style to WWII when Julia worked for America’s secret service, the OSS, and first encountered adventure and the love of her life.
Foremost, The Secret War of Julia Child by Diana R. Chambers is historical fiction. Chambers painted the details in color and shadow so that this was part ‘this is how it was for real’ and ‘this could have been true.’ An intriguing tale of high adventure for an unlikely heroine. I had no trouble with blending the real-life Julia Child of my mind’s eye with Chambers’ sensitive, full of joie de vivre, yet quietly intrepid younger version, Julia McWilliams.
The story begins in Washington DC when Julia is the secretary to the real-life founder of the OSS (America’s CIA predecessor) “Wild Bill” Donovan, and she dreams of becoming one of his operatives and not just a paper pusher for this war. She gets her chance when he sends her to India to set up the regional OSS office and an even more secret directive to spy on their allies, the British, to determine if they are as solid as they seem. The voyage out and first days in India are a crash course in the uncertainty of war and survival. There are transfers to exotic locales and adventures. This eye-opening first chance in the field is so much more than she expected with lessons learned coming right and left including lessons in love and relationships.
Taking its time over the course of the war in Southeast Asia, I was tantalized by her secret work, unexpected spy adventures, and Julia’s personal life which also served to showcase the perilous real life of that place and period. She was parts scared and parts shocked by conditions in the field and for those enduring war in their lands. I greatly appreciated that local flavor and the people who populated this book along with Julia’s exploits.
The Secret War of Julia Child is a brilliant star in WWII fiction and romance that readers will definitely want to pick up. As Julia would always sign off her program, “Bon Appetit!”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Diana R. Chambers was born with a book in one hand and a passport in the other. Her first explorations were in the library, plotting adventures on her world globe. She went on to study Asian art history at university, work at a Paris translation agency, and dream in French. Fate landed her in India, where she began a handicrafts export business, which led, circuitously, to Hollywood costuming…and, later, scriptwriting. She was enthralled by the magic of creating worlds, but after one of her scripts was optioned then never made, her characters started demanding their own novels! Diana had just the novel in mind, working on it while on location with a Canadian/French/American detective series. She also wrote several articles about her travels and research in various borderlands.
Diana has followed her stories around the world and back in time. She is the author of four novels, including The Star of India, from Penguin Random House India. Her latest, The Secret War of Julia Child, inspired by Julia’s OSS service in WWII Asia, will be published by Sourcebooks Landmark on October 22, 2024.
She lives in Northern California and Aix-en-Provence, France, with her fellow-traveler husband, artist daughter, and feral cat, Marco Polo. For more on Diana’s books and travels, visit her archived blog; you may also find her on Instagram, Bluesky, Twitter, and Facebook.
ABOUT SOPHIA ROSE, REVIEWER
Sophia is a quiet, curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants, and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and a loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, baseball, cats, Scooby Doo, and chocolate. As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. In 2012, she submitted her first book review and is currently an associate reviewer. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction, particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Sorry, no horror...or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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