Provence, 1970
Page 24
NOTES AND SOURCES
The following pages catalogue my sources for the material in this book. I was fortunate to be writing about a group of people who sent each other wonderful letters (and saved them), who kept diaries, and wrote memoirs. M. F. K. Fisher’s daily letters during this period to Arnold Gingrich provided a detailed, sometimes hour-by-hour record of events. I was also able to speak at length with three of the people I was writing about: my grandmother Norah Barr, Knopf editor Judith Jones, and chauffeur Raymond Gatti, and with many others familiar with the characters and time period I describe. All the events, meals, menus, conversations, and arguments described in this book originate in these documents and interviews. In creating a narrative—to bring scenes to life—I have incorporated quotes from contemporaneous letters and diaries as dialogue; the source for each quotation is listed here. In chapter 1 (“All Alone”) and chapter 13 (“The Ghost of Arles and Avignon”), I made use of extensive quotes and scenes from M.F.’s 1970 diary. (Parts of this diary were published in the chapter “About Looking Alone at a Place: Arles” in M.F.’s As They Were, in 1982. It was in the manila folder containing page proofs and edits of that book that I found the 1970 diary among her personal papers.) I have also relied on—among many other books and newspaper articles—Julia Child’s My Life in France, Judith Jones’s The Tenth Muse, and Richard Olney’s posthumous autobiography, Reflexions, much of which is a compendium of his correspondence. All quotes and references are listed below, and in the case of letters and unpublished material, the library or collection is listed: the private Fisher and Olney papers, the Beard papers at NYU’s Fales Library (Fales), and the Fisher, Child, and Beck papers catalogued at the Schlesinger Library at Harvard (Schlesinger).
PROLOGUE
1 “books about eating”: Fisher, Serve It Forth, p. 5.
2 “you sit, pompously nonchalant”: Ibid. 10 “firm authority”: Ibid., p. 6.
3 “I am not old and famous”: Ibid.
4 “It was then that I discovered”: Ibid., p. 27.
5 “The sections of tangerine”: Ibid., p. 28.
6 “You are known, my dear!”: Ibid., p. 67.
7 “Why is it that each year”: Beard editorial for the National Premium Beer Journal (Fall 1952), as quoted in James Beard: A Biography, by Robert Clark, p. 148.
8 “Station Wagon Way of Life”: House Beautiful, June 1950, discussed in James Beard: A Biography, p. 138.
9 “We have purposely omitted cobwebbed bottles”: Child, Bertholle, Beck, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, p. vii.
10 “One of the main reasons”: Ibid., p. viii.
11 “the year of curry”: Nora Ephron, “Critics in the World of the Rising Soufflé (or Is It the Rising Meringue?)” New York, September 30, 1968.
CHAPTER ONE: ALL ALONE
1 M. F. K. Fisher walked into the lobby: All the scenes and quotes in this chapter are from M.F.’s 1970 journal, Fisher papers.
CHAPTER TWO: TEN WEEKS EARLIER …
1 “too dreamily sensitive”: Fisher, The Gastronomical Me, p. 389, in The Art of Eating.
2 “I do not know of anyone”: W. H. Auden introduction to The Art of Eating, 1963.
3 “Gastronomy Recalled”: The New Yorker, 1968 and 1969.
4 “I’m about to make a real break”: M.F. to Eleanor Friede, July 2, 1970, Schlesinger.
5 “Say we shall not miss again!”: Julia Child to M.F., August 4, 1970, Schlesinger.
6 “The main thing is to see you both”: M.F. to Childs, September 16, 1970, Schlesinger.
7 “lucid and enlightened”: Craig Claiborne, “Debut for a Series of International Cookbooks,” New York Times, February 19, 1968.
8 “Such a time we’ve been having”: Paul Child to M.F., September 6, 1970, Schlesinger.
9 “while a lady”: M.F. to David Bouverie, August 29, 1970, Fisher papers.
10 “Shades of my great aunts!”: Ibid.
11 “Excuse me”: M.F. to Arnold Gingrich, October 11, 1970, Schlesinger. I have changed a few words and tenses for clarity. The full quote is: “Well—just as we got to the elevator the other couple came running after us and to my real amazement asked if I was M. F. K. Fisher. Of course I said I was—but how did they know?”
12 “the finest French restaurant”: Craig Claiborne, “The Finest Restaurant in the World: S.S. France,” New York Times, January 2, 1969.
13 “You don’t see chervil”: Norah Barr, interview with author.
14 Hôtel de France et de Choiseul: The hotel is described in a letter, M.F. to Gingrich, October 15, 1970, Schlesinger. (Years later, the hotel was renovated and reopened as the fashionable Hôtel Costes.)
15 “stopped in a small bar”: Ibid.
16 “watery spree”: Joan Reardon, Poet of the Appetites, p. 377.
17 “relaxed philosopher”: M.F. to Gingrich, October 15, 1970, Schlesinger.
18 Hôtel Terminus: M.F. had been to the hotel before, and described it (and its wine faucets) in “A Mission Accomplished,” written in 1970 and published in As They Were, in 1982.
19 They saw the tiny owl: Norah Barr, interview with author.
20 “One has to be a real nut”: M.F. to Gingrich, October 19, 1970, Schlesinger.
21 fat ducks, fish, veal stews: Ibid. M.F. described the meals on board: “The food is delicious, with lots of vegetables—everything fresh—this morning cook Michel was plucking two fat ducks off the aft bow—last night we had quenelles made from two brochet he caught—with a perfect crayfish sauce, then a sauté de veau with mushrooms, sauce Marchego, and a jardinier de légumes—plateau de fromages de la région (magnifique!), fruits, café—we drank a delicious Pouilly Fumé and then a local Tammay Rouge. Oh my.”
22 “Norah and I did our secret trick”: M.F. to Gingrich, October 30, 1970, Schlesinger.
23 The girls wore midi or maxi skirts: Aix and inhabitants described in a letter, M.F. to Gingrich, October 31, 1970, Schlesinger.
24 “You and Norah are officially forbidden”: Paul Child to M.F., September 6, 1970, Schlesinger.
CHAPTER THREE: EN ROUTE TO PROVENCE
1 “invaded by telephone”: Paul Child to William Krauss, March 18, 1971, Schlesinger.
2 “I am not an entertainer”: Child to Beard, December 21, 1971, Schlesinger.
3 “It is hard to conceive of a cookbook”: Raymond Sokolov, Newsweek, November 9, 1970.
4 “heralded like the Second Coming”: Nika Hazelton, “Genghis Khan’s Sauerkraut and Other Edibles,” New York Times, December 6, 1970.
5 “Wonderful job”: M.F. to Child, November 23, 1970, Schlesinger.
6 “Tant pis!”: The book party is described in a letter, Child to Simone Beck, September 26, 1970, Schlesinger.
7 “Nobody’s looking”: Child on TV, quoted in Calvin Tomkins’s Child profile, “Good Cooking,” The New Yorker, December 23, 1974.
8 “Never apologize”: Ibid.
9 “such an integral part”: Judith Jones, The Tenth Muse, p. 83.
10 “obediently”: Richard Olney, Reflexions, p. 125.
11 “He is, by his own definition”: Craig Claiborne, “ ‘Hermit’ Treats Guests to His Lavish Cooking,” New York Times, November 14, 1970.
12 “It is high time”: Child to Beard, June 7, 1970, Schlesinger.
13 “Offhand”: Beard, “American Writes a French Cookbook,” Los Angeles Times, September 17, 1970.
14 “If rare or medium-rare”: Olney, The French Menu Cookbook, p. 113. 56 “a rave”: Olney to his brother James, November 1970, Olney papers.
15 “Things seem to be stirring”: Ibid.
16 “wicked thrill”: Beard, “Appreciation,” The Art of Eating, p. xx.
17 “Designing hors d’oeuvre”: Quoted in Evan Jones, Epicurean Delight, p. 105.
18 “biggest whore”: Quoted in Noel Riley Fitch, Appetite for Life, p. 351.
19 “Dear James Beard”: Olney to Beard, October 1, 1970, Fales.
CHAPTER FOUR: AN EPIC DINNER WITH RICHARD OLNEY
> 1 small, pointy knife: This and all other cooking details in this chapter are derived from Olney’s The French Menu Cookbook and Simple French Food.
2 “Apéritif: Morey-Saint-Denis”: Menu from Olney, Reflexions, p. 125. He also published the menu in Cuisine et Vins de France.
3 “It killed both the Sauternes”: Olney to James Olney, November 1970, Olney papers.
4 it tasted a bit off: Ibid.
5 “real radiance”: M.F. to Childs, December 11, 1970, Schlesinger.
6 “We enjoyed a few minutes”: Olney, Reflexions, p. 123.
7 “All the articles I have seen”: Olney to James Olney, fall 1970, Olney papers.
8 Olney had found an old villa: M.F. described the evening in a letter to Gingrich, November 20, 1970, Schlesinger.
9 Bedford was testy: Ibid.
10 “Richard’s house is fantastic”: Ibid.
11 “The M. F. K Fisher visit”: Olney to James Olney, November 1970, Olney papers.
CHAPTER FIVE: FIRST MEALS IN FRANCE
1 “This has become our ritual”: Paul Child to M.F., May 8, 1971, Schlesinger.
2 “While we are in the grip”: Ibid.
3 lunch at La Couronne: Described in Child, My Life in France, p. 15.
4 sometimes the sole was a duck: Laura Shapiro, Julia Child: A Life, p. 28.
5 best bread she’d ever tasted: “The Most Important Meal I Ever Ate,” Napa Valley Tables (Spring/Summer 1990), described in Reardon, Poet of the Appetites, p. 45.
6 “It sounds almost disrespectful”: Ibid.
7 pot-au-feu: Beard, Delights and Prejudices, p. 131.
8 “It was a dinner I have never forgotten”: Ibid., p. 132.
9 stuffed eggplant: Ibid, p. 202.
10 “a glum little dining room”: Olney, Reflexions, p. 11.
11 “I am no longer content”: Jones, The Tenth Muse, p. 20.
12 “mostly with cakes”: Beck, Simca’s Cuisine, p. 4.
CHAPTER SIX: LA PITCHOUNE, COUNTRY RETREAT
1 “perfect”: Paul Child to M.F., May 8, 1971, Schlesinger.
2 rapid gear-shifting: Ibid.
3 “as tied down by television”: Paul Child to M.F., October 18, 1971, Schlesinger.
4 “I keep thinking THANK GAWD”: Child to Beard, June 29, 1970, Schlesinger. 85 “primetime”: Paul Child to M.F., September 6, 1970, Schlesinger.
5 “I have only 5 weeks”: Child to Beck, February 5, 1970, Schlesinger.
6 “say to Julia”: Beck to Jones, February 9, 1970, Schlesinger. Translated from the original French: “… vous dites à Julia que vous trouvez que ce chapitre est un peu court, et vous lui demandez si par hasard, elle n’aurait pas une autre recette pour compléter ce chapitre? Vous verrez sa réaction.”
7 “The recipe I must say”: Jones to Beck, February 16, 1970, Schlesinger.
8 “How does ½ cup”: Ibid.
9 “parfaitement”: Beck to Jones, February 24, 1970, Schlesinger.
10 “Ma chérie”: Child to Beck, February 18, 1970, Schlesinger.
11 “not really temples”: Child to M.F., August 4, 1970, Schlesinger.
12 “best bread”: M.F. to Childs, August 27, 1970, Schlesinger.
13 “re-imprisoned by nostalgia”: Child to M.F., August 4, 1970, Schlesinger.
14 “And that dear Mary Frances”: Child to Beard, June 7, 1970, Schlesinger.
15 “Indeed, Jim Beard adored you”: Child to M.F., July 23, 1967, Schlesinger.
16 “We who do not live in France”: Fisher, Cooking of Provincial France, p. 53.
17 “an overall feeling”: Child to M.F., October 26, 1966, Schlesinger.
18 “One reason we are friends”: M.F. to Child, August 27, 1970, Schlesinger.
19 “Every Frenchman”: Child to M.F., September 1, 1969, quoted in Noel Riley Fitch, Appetite for Life, p. 348.
20 “exactly what has been bugging me”: Ibid.
21 “Sorry about the pencil”: M.F. to Childs, December 11, 1970, Schlesinger.
CHAPTER SEVEN: JAMES BEARD’S DOOMED DIET
1 “To Whom It May Concern”: From Dr. Sullivan, October 28, 1970, Fales.
2 He weighed 138 kilograms: This and all other medical details are contained in Beard’s file from the Pathé clinic, Fales.
3 “moral victory”: Ibid.
4 “Prudent Diet”: Ibid.
5 “Breakfast: 70 grams fruit”: Ibid.
6 “Polynesian school of cookery”: Beard, American Cookery, p. 6.
7 “the goal of every amateur”: Ibid., p. 4.
8 “grotesqueries of American cooking”: Ibid, p. 7.
9 “Heavenly”: M.F. to Gingrich, November 16, 1970, Schlesinger.
10 “If you don’t like being alone”: Lord to M.F., July 29, 1970, Schlesinger.
11 “general handyman”: M.F. to Gingrich, November 16, 1970, Schlesinger.
12 Bert Greene: Norah Barr, interview with author.
13 “adjoining studios”: Sybille Bedford, Quicksands, p. 359.
14 “If I believed”: M.F. to Lord, November 18, 1959, Fisher papers, quoted in Reardon, Poet of the Appetites, p. 30.
15 “like a bear”: Quoted in Olney, Reflexions, p. 133.
16 “With breathless casualness”: Richard Plant, “A Family Scandal or Two,” New York Times, February 3, 1957.
17 “strange and withdrawn”: Child to M.F., July 23, 1967, Schlesinger.
18 “closed cooking circle”: Lord to M.F., July 29, 1970, Schlesinger.
19 “We had two dinners”: Ibid.
20 It was odd to be alone: Described in a letter, M.F. to Gingrich, November 20, 1970, Schlesinger.
21 “I almost never see Eda”: M.F. to Gingrich, November 22, 1970, Schlesinger.
22 His clients included celebrities: Described by Gatti, interview with author.
23 “On a clear day”: Ibid.
24 “glamorous aristocrats”: Jones, Epicurean Delight, p. 283.
25 “Few potatoes”: Beard, American Cookery, p. 569.
26 “It was a fine moment”: Fisher, Gastronomical Me, p. 395, in The Art of Eating.
27 “one of the most beautiful”: M.F. to Gingrich, November 22, 1970, Schlesinger.
28 “What a wonderful way”: M.F. to Gingrich, December 13, 1970, Schlesinger.
CHAPTER EIGHT: PARIS INTERLUDE
1 “emotional climates”: Norah Barr to M.F., December 1971, Schlesinger.
2 “a dream”: M.F. to Gingrich, October 15, 1970, Schlesinger.
3 “Belon oysters and Palourde clams”: Meal described in a letter, M.F. to Gingrich, December 6, 1970, Schlesinger.
4 “Cream of pheasant soup”: Menu described in Olney, Reflexions, p. 127.
5 “sublime”: Ibid.
6 “There exists a bastard cuisine”: Olney, The French Menu Cookbook, p. 18.
7 “I prepared an oxtail pot-au-feu”: Olney, Reflexions, p. 70.
8 “rags”: Ibid., p. 83.
CHAPTER NINE: A DINNER PARTY AT THE CHILDS’
1 Boussageon: Boussageon and other local purveyors described in a letter, Child to Beard, January 1971, Schlesinger.
2 “Soupe Barbue”: Ibid.
3 “Put it to the test”: Jones, interview with author.
4 “Will Julia approve”: Ibid.
5 Pâté de campagne and smoked salmon: Ibid.
6 “You’d think”: Ibid.
7 “We worry about him”: Child to M.F., December, 1970, Schlesinger.
8 “Our dear fat friend”: Paul Child to M.F., February 24, 1971, Schlesinger.
9 “zipping deftly here and there”: M.F. to Childs, October 25, 1971, Schlesinger.
10 “I thought of you today”: Elizabeth David to Beard, October 16, 1970, Fales.
11 “a squalid little book”: Ibid.
12 “I’m very pleased”: David to Beard, January 8, 1971, Fales.
13 “I have eaten every bit as well”: Child to M.F., August 4, 1970, Schlesinger.
14 “widely reputed to have a predilection”: Craig
Claiborne, “The 1960’s: Haute Cuisine in America,” New York Times, January 1, 1970.
15 “doing his best”: Childs to Claiborne, January 2, 1970, Schlesinger.
16 “Simca: quelle femme!”: M.F. to Gingrich, November 20, 1970, Schlesinger.
17 “I liked her”: Ibid.
18 “sad, grim No”: M.F. to Gingrich, November 6, 1970, Schlesinger.
19 “amazing, quite beautiful”: M.F. to Gingrich, December 13, 1970, Schlesinger.
20 “cinema sycophants”: Paul Child to Charlie Child, May 28, 1971, and copy sent to M.F., Schlesinger.
21 “It’s very enheartening”: Ibid.
22 “For my own meals”: Fisher, Serve It Forth, p. 51.
23 “le parking”: Child to Beard, January 5, 1971, Schlesinger.
24 “le deesvashaire”: Paul Child to M.F., May 8, 1971, Schlesinger.
25 “Everyone has been splendid”: Child to M.F., January 1971, Schlesinger.
CHAPTER TEN: SEXUAL POLITICS
1 “I wonder if you’ve heard”: M.F. to Gingrich, November 20, 1970, Schlesinger.
2 “The Greening of America”: Charles Reich, “The Greening of America,” The New Yorker, September 26, 1970.
3 “more of the same”: M.F. to Gingrich, November 6, 1970, Schlesinger.
4 “It seems to me”: Fisher, The Gastronomical Me, p. ix.
5 “There was a bottle of smooth potent gin”: Ibid., p. 167.
6 “In 1935 or 1936”: Ibid., p. 128.
7 How to Cook in Bed: M.F. to Eleanor Friede, February 13, 1971, Schlesinger.
8 “M. F. K. Fisher writes about food”: Clifton Fadiman, “Books,” The New Yorker, May 30, 1942.
9 “the past-mistress”: M.F. to Eleanor Friede, February 13, 1971, Schlesinger.