Julia Child's Kitchen

A few weeks ago, on a trip south for a wedding, we stopped in Washington D.C. for a couple of days, to visit friends and, of course, museums.  I have a long list of places in D.C. I want to visit, but there's never enough time for more than one or two.  This time, inspired by Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci's marvelous performances in Julie and Julia, I went straight to the Smithsonian to visit Julia Child's Kitchen. 

(To be strictly accurate, my journey was somewhat straight.  It was necessary to detour round the Boy Scouts parade.  There were several thousand of them in town that weekend, and the 100+ temps made even those brave lads faint, some of them.  But more of that at another time.)

Following up on my blog about Julia Child at Two Nerdy History Girls, here, for you viewing pleasure, are more photos.

There's a ton of fascinating info about Julia Child and her kitchen here, at the Smithsonian's Museum of American History site.

Historical Romance thrives at Yale

Let me commence with with the quotation I swiped from the syllabus for "Reading Historical Romance, " taught by authors

Lauren Willig

and Andrea DaRif (w/a

Cara Elliott

):

“Although our [novels] have afforded more extensive and unaffected pleasure than those of any other literary corporation in the world, no species of composition has been so much decried.  From pride, ignorance, or fashion, our foes are as many as our readers….”

                -- Jane Austen,

Northanger Abbey

(1818)

I'm happy to report that while this continues to be true, at least 18 Yale students have a different point of view.  I was one of a panel invited to be interrogated by these students earlier in the week.  (L-R:  Lauren, Carrie Ferron of HarperCollins, Andrea, SB Sarah of

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

, and me.)

These students are taking a course titled "Reading the Historical Romance"--a class I mentioned in a

previous blog

, whose required reading included, among other historical romances, my own

Mr. Impossible

.  Their thoughtful questions made me wish I'd been sitting in on all the classes.  It also made me wish we'd had more time to talk.  Our two-hour class was much too short.

Thank you, students, Andrea & Lauren, for a truly memorable day.

Mr. Impossible goes to Yale

Nerdy History Girl

Susan Holloway Scott

called my attention to

this piece by George Eliot

. 

I know that for some people, all romance novels are "silly novels by lady novelists." 

But I don't care what they say because I'm on a reading list at Yale.  Authors

Lauren Willig

and

Cara Elliott

are teaching a course called "Reading the Historical Romance"— and my very own

Mr. Impossible

is Required Reading!  Which is kind of funny, considering that the hero Rupert is...erm...well, no Einstein.  But there he is, in the hallowed halls of academe. 

That's Lauren on the left and Cara on the right.  And if various schedules can be made to mesh, I'll be meeting their students next month.