Book Review: My Life in France

Title: My Life in France
Authors: Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme (her husband's grandnephew)
Publisher: Anchor Books, New York, 2007
Category: Non-fiction, biography
Number of Pages: 352
Price: $14.95 Paperback

What the book is about:
Julia Child tells the story of her life and how she came to write the classic book "Mastering The Art of French Cooking". It all began when her husband Paul (who she married at the age of 34) was stationed in Paris as a cultural attache. Julia learned to speak French with intensive daily lessons at Berlitz and tried to teach herself to cook using recipes from Gourmet Magazine.

But her passion really took hold at age 37 when she took cooking lessons at the Cordon Bleu. Not satisfied with the lessons for housewives, Julia transferred into the more intensive professional program. As she grew ever more knowledgeable about French cuisine, she supplemented her learning with private lessons and her own research. Eventually she met two Frenchwomen who had started writing a book on French cuisine and who needed an American to assist them with translating the recipes for a US reader. Spearheading the creation of this tome on French cuisine, Julia made it a labour of love spanning many years. After publication in 1961, Julia embarked on a self-structured USA publicity tour that ultimately led to her introduction to tv and "The French Chef".

Why I chose this book:
Being a passionate home chef, I have always been in awe of Julia child. I have vague recollections of watching reruns of "The French Chef" on PBS and seeing the spoofs of her on Saturday Night Live. I also have her cookbooks. And of course, I read "The Julie/Julia Project: 365 Days, 524 Recipes and 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen" about the food blogger who nearly loses her sanity cooking every recipe in "Mastering The Art of French Cooking". But it wasn't until I read this book that I truly appreciated the contribution that Julia Child made to the world of the home chef.

Favourite Passage:
"The more I thought about it, the more this project fired my imagination. After all, the lessons embedded in these recipes were a logical extension of the material we used in our classes. I liked to strip everything down to the bones; with a bit of work, I thought this book could do that, too, only on a much more comprehensive scale. I had come to cooking late in life, and knew from firsthand experience how frustrating it could be to try to learn from badly written recipes. I was determined that our cookbook would be clear and informative and accurate, just as our teaching strove to be." (page 144)

Rating: A
This is a delightful book. There were many twists and turns in the story that made for a fascinating read, even for a non-gourmet. I had a whole new appreciation for her success as a chef and a writer. And I felt like I got to know her as a person, shortcomings and all.

Book Review: Madam Campan's Memoirs

If I mention Marie Antoinette in a post, I know that I will attract a lot of readers. She is a fashion icon, a history superstar! Everyone is fascinated by her, including me. I see a book about Marie Antoinette and I want it! But I've learned the hard way that not all such books are worthy of being in my library (or yours for that matter) and that is what this post is about.

Many history books mention Madam Campan's memoirs as a source of their material and so I ordered this book at www.amazon.com. But as soon as I opened the book, I realized it was a sham. The book does not indicate who translated these memoirs not does it list an editor. This is appalling to me because this information is very important for readers. How else can a reader judge the integrity with which these "memoirs" have been handled if no one is willing to stand behind their work and state their name. This book is "published" by IndyPublish.com.

One of the first pages cites this book as being "the historic memoirs of Madam Campan, First Lady in Waiting to the Queen". My friend, Catherine Delors, of Versailles and More, informed me that Madam Campan was NOT first lady in waiting to the Queen but was, in fact, first chambermaid. This is not a trivial mistake!!

Catherine warned me to "Beware of English translations of memoirs of that time. They are either inaccurate, as in this case, or edited in many ways!". She recommends Mercure de France edition of Madam Campan's memoirs (written in French) as being accurate and informative.

I do not recommend buying the English translation of Madam Campan's Memoirs. Sadly, I've come to the conclusion that many publishers (and some bloggers too) are exploiting the public's fascination with Marie Antoinette. Buyer beware is the lesson of the day.

A Scented Palace, The Secret History of Marie Antoinette's Perfumer

Title: A Scented Palace, The Secret History of Marie Antoinette's Perfumer
Author: Elisabeth de Feydeau
Translator: Jane Lizop
Publisher: I.B. Tauris, London, New York (2006)
Category: Non-fiction, history, biography
Price: US$22 hardcover (www.amazon.com)
Number of Pages: 114 before appendices, 140 including appendices

What it is about:
Jean-Louis Fargeon was the perfumer to Marie Antoinette. Born in 1748, seven years before the birth of the future Queen of France, Jean-Louis was the first-born son in a long line of apothecaries and perfumers. This book follows the trajectory of Jean-Louis' life as he masters the skills of a perfumer, develops his business and serves as perfumer to Marie Antoinette. The history of the French revolution is interwoven into the tale.

My favourite passage:
"Finally the perfumer had to reinforce the depth and perfect the harmony of his preparation. Vanilla would lend a warm and delicious touch, soft and velvety, redolent of Marie Antoinette's childhood and her fondness for Viennese pastries, a gourmet hint of sweetness and gentleness. Cedar and sandalwood would add the note of the wooded lanes of the Trianon. Amber and musk would overlay the entire composition with a sensual, animal fervour, and a pinch of benzoin would add warmth and tenacity to the whole." (page 70)

Why I chose this book:
A good friend/blogging fan noticed that I was researching and writing about Marie Antoinette in the fall and gave me this book for my birthday.

Rating: B
While this book was well-written, I found the volume slim with 114 pages. The footnotes are not extensive and the source of material that this biography is based on is not really clear (other than a mention of Fargeon's papers).

The book was amusing but did not really provide much new information about the time period, with the exception of the passages about the toilette preparations of Marie Antoinette. Nevertheless, I think that it is good read for die-hard Marie Antoinette fans. I simply cannot get enough of this fashion icon.