A riveting novel set in World War II's Southeast Asian theater imagines critical contributions by the United States's most unlikely intelligence officer: Julia McWilliams Child, beloved chef of French cuisine. The Secret War of Julia Child by Diana R. Chambers is well-documented historical fiction that pays credit to Child's brave and clever intelligence work for the Office of Strategic Services.
Woven among the trials of war is the romance between Julia and brilliant Paul Child, a mapmaker whose Visual Display unit works closely with Julia's. From her arrival in the Pacific arena in March 1944 until Japan's surrender in August 1945, Julia serves in regions vulnerable to enemy attack, even though she claimed in a memoir that she "was not a spy." Chambers unsparingly details the war's tragedies but balances the losses with lighthearted descriptions of friendship, cuisine, and natural beauty. Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, and China were vital to Allied defense from Japan, but they were also lands of rare birds, lush scenery, and exquisite flavors. Julia and Paul cautiously develop their relationship while working together, often in tenuous circumstances, to reveal military secrets and thwart espionage. Chambers hints at Julia's future as "the French chef" as they also share "pillowy stuffed dumplings," spicy sauces, and crunchy "mysterious tidbits." The Secret War of Julia Child is a fascinating glimpse into a little-known side of a famous personality and a revealing history of nations often not highlighted in books about World War II. Early in the novel, Julia muses of "tides of war flinging people together, then apart," but readers will celebrate Julia and Paul's happy ending. --Cheryl McKeon, Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany, N.Y.