By Melanie Linn Gutowski

Julia Child. The very sound of her name is enough to get any Savvy Auntie into the kitchen to start whipping up a batch of bouillabaisse.
 
Child is famous to generations as the woman who brought French cuisine to the average American cook, with her iconic cookbooks and shows on public television, such as "Dinner at Julia's."

While many of us are familiar with Child's life story and the fact that she and husband Paul didn't have any children of their own, what many people don't realize is that Child herself was a very Savvy Auntie.

In the 2009 film "Julie and Julia," there is a moment in the midst of a whirlwind of excitement over Child's forthcoming "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in which she receives a letter from her recently married younger sister, Dorothy Cousins.  "Dortie" reports that she is pregnant, and in the bittersweet moment, portrayed so artfully by Meryl Streep (who just received an Oscar nomination for her performance), viewers understand the happiness Child has for becoming an aunt, mixed with the sadness at her own unfulfilled desire for children of her own.

But, as was Child's way, she continued with her work and went on to become one of the most famous women in American popular culture.  Between 1961 and 2000, she authored more than 12 books and starred in seven public television shows, but it was not until 2003, at age 91, that she finally began to write her own story.

Though Child had intended for many years to write an autobiographical account of her formative years in France, including the early years of her marriage and those that inspired her lifelong culinary career, it took the persistence of her great-nephew, journalist Alex Prud'homme, to make it a reality.

"For years she politely resisted the idea" of writing her memoir with assistance, wrote Prud'homme in the foreword to "My Life in France."  In December 2003, she once again mentioned "the France book," in a wistful tone, and I again offered to assist her.  This time she said, "All right, dearie, maybe we should work on it together."

Prud’homme, the grandson of Paul Child’s twin brother, Charles, seems to have relished the bonding time he spent with his great aunt during their collaboration.

"…The more I learned about Julia Child, the more I came to respect her," he wrote.  "What impressed me most was how hard she worked, how devoted she was to the 'rules' of 'la cuisine française' while keeping herself open to creative exploration, and how determined she was to persevere in the face of setbacks."

"Julia never lost her sense of wonder and inquisitiveness.  She was, and is, a great inspiration."

The resulting book, which Prud’homme finished alone after Child’s death in 2004, became a popular and critical success, now in its ninth hardback printing, and the basis for half the screenplay of “Julie and Julia."

"I finished 'My Life in France,' but every day wished I could call her up and ask her to clarify a story, or to share a bit of news, or just to talk," Prud'homme wrote of his great-aunt.  

"I miss her."

Photo: JuliaChildPictures.com

Melanie Linn Gutowski is a freelance writer and a proud Godmother.