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A Covert Affair

Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS
by Jennet Conant
A Covert Affair: Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS. S. & S. Apr. 2011. c.448p. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781439163528. $28. HIST
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Former journalist Conant (The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington) again forays into the World War II era, here following several Office of Strategic Services (OSS) recruits. Though it's a well-researched, entertaining, and fast-paced read, a substantial portion of the book follows, rather than Paul and Julia Child, the adventures of Jane Foster, a dilettante artist who served with them in the OSS and was later accused (but never convicted) of being a Communist spy. Foster, the daughter of a wealthy San Francisco family, was recruited into the OSS because she had lived in Asia. She came to be stationed in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) with Julia and Paul. The book follows Foster after the war, when she unwittingly worked for the Soviets, or so she claimed in her autobiography, An UnAmerican Lady (1982).
VERDICT If readers are looking for an engaging account of Jane Foster, the socialite-turned-spy, and her OSS friends, then this is well worth reading. Those who are expecting to learn about Julia Child and her husband would be better served by Julia Child's memoir, My Life in France. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/10.]
Reviewed by Crystal Goldman, San Jose St. Univ. Lib., CA , Mar 15, 2011
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