Noël Riley Fitch Julia Child Papers
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Abstract
Noël Riley Fitch (1937- ) is an author and biographer. She was Professor of Literature (1971-1987) and Chair of the Department of Literature and Modern Languages (1982-1985) at Point Loma College, and has lectured at the University of Southern California (1986-2007) and the American University of Paris (1987-2007). The Noël Riley Fitch Julia Child Papers consists largely of material related to the research, production, and reception of Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child. These materials include correspondence, research, original letters and diaries of Julia and Paul Child, photographs, proofs and drafts of the manuscript. The collection also includes material related to the research and publication of her books The Grand Literary Cafés of Europe, Literary Cafés of Paris, and Paris Cafe: the Select Crowd. Personal materials related to the professional life of Fitch are in this collection, as well as a selection of menus from restaurants across Europe and the United States.
Biographical Note
Noël Riley Fitch (1937-) was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and educated at Northwest Nazarene College (B.A., 1959) and Washington State University (M.A., 1965 and Ph.D., 1969), and subsequently completed postdoctoral NEH seminar studies at Princeton (1976) and Yale (1979). She was professor of literature (1971-1987) and chair of the Department of Literature and Modern Languages (1982-1985) at Point Loma College. She was a lecturer at the University of Southern California from 1986 to 2007 and the American University of Paris from 1987 to 2007.
Working with the full cooperation and exclusive authorization of Julia Child, Noël Riley Fitch conducted thorough research into Child's life and completed extensive interviews with those in her broad circle to write Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child (1997, 2012). Fitch went on to write further articles about Child and collaborated with the A&E Biography of her produced in 1997.
Fitch is also the author of a number of books exploring cafe culture in Europe and particularly Paris including The Grand Literary Cafes of Europe (2007), covering the history of coffee and the coffeehouse and featuring nearly 40 cafes in 20 countries, from London To Moscow, Lisbon to Bucharest and Rome; Literary Cafes of Paris (1989) with descriptions, history, anecdotes, and comments on the food and drink of nearly thirty establishments central to the literary life of France, America and England; and Paris Cafe: The Select Crowd (2007), a personal look into the workings and daily rhythm of a cafe and its famous as well as anonymous clientele co-authored with illustrator Rick Tulka.
Other major works by Fitch include Anaïs: The Erotic Life of Anaïs Nin (1993), Hemingway in Paris: Parisian Walks for the Literary Traveller (1989) and Sylvia Beach and the Lost Generation: A History of Literary Paris in the Twenties and Thirties (1983). In addition, she co-edited, with Richard Etulain, Faith and Imagination (1985, 2012) and she published numerous articles, including [four] about Julia Child:
"Meanwhile: America honors its favorite 'French Chef'," International Herald Tribune. 24 July 2003.
"Notre Dame de la cuisine and the Prince des Gastronomes," Gastronomica; The Journal of Food and Culture. Summer, 2005: 73-79. "Child at Heart," Paris Notes. Cover essay. March, 2007.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into nine series, some of which have been further divided into subseries:
Series I. Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child
Subseries A. Research Files
Subseries B. Research Correspondence
Subseries C. Drafts and Proofs
Subseries D. Publication, Publicity, and Reception
Subseries E. Photographs and Images
Series II. The Grand Literary Cafés of Europe
Series III. Literary Cafés of Paris
Series IV. Paris Café: The Select Crowd
Series V. Noël Riley Fitch Personal Materials
Series VI: Audio
Series VII: Video
Series VIII. Data Storage
Series IX. Objects
Scope and Content
The Noël Riley Fitch Julia Child Papers consist largely of material related to the research, production and reception of Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child, including transcripts and audio tapes of interviews with Julia Child and her colleagues, family and friends; extensive correspondence related to research for the book; photocopies of original letters and diaries of Julia and Paul Child; newspaper and magazine articles and photocopies of books related to French cooking, cookery in the United States, various places that Julia Child lived, and organizations with which she was associated including the United States Office of Strategic Services and the American Institute of Wine and Food; photographs of Julia Child, her family and friends, as well as photographs taken in the course of research; proofs and drafts of the manuscript; and correspondence and documents related to the publication and publicity of Appetite for Life, including reviews and related correspondence post publication of the book. The collection also includes correspondence, clippings, source material, drafts and documents related to the research and publication of The Grand Literary Cafés of Europe, Literary Cafés of Paris and Paris Cafe: the Select Crowd, and personal materials related to the professional life of Noël Riley Fitch, as well as a collection of menus from restaurants across Europe and the United States.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open to researchers.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder. Please contact the Fales Library and Special Collections, fales.library@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Noel Riley Fitch Julia Child Papers; MSS 323; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Noel Riley Fitch in 2011, 2013, and 2018. The accession numbers related to this gift are 2011.323, 2013.323, 2019.008.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Access to audiovisual materials in this collection is available through digitized access copies. Researchers may view an item's original container, but the media themselves are not available for playback because of preservation concerns. Materials that have already been digitized are noted in the collection's finding aid and can be requested in our reading room. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact special.collections@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Decisions regarding arrangement, description, and physical interventions for this collection prior to 2019 are unknown. In 2019, the archivist retained orginal folders, keeping materials in their original order, placing the files in new boxes. Oversized material was placed in a flat box file folder. Material was added at the end of file listings within their appropriate series within the existing arrangement.
On February 2019, materials from accession 2013.323 were placed in new acid-free folders and manuscript boxes, being prepared for offsite storage. Original order of documents maintained from box 1.
