Ep 162: Bestselling Author Harriet Welty Rochefort

Send us Fan MailHarriet Welty Rochefort grew up and was educated in the Midwest (B.A. Universityof Michigan, Ann Arbor and M.S.J. Northwestern Medill School of Journalism). AFrench-American dual citizen, she has lived in France since 1973 with her Frenchhusband Philippe. They have 3 sons, Nicolas, a neurologist in Marseilles, Benjamin,a computer specialist in Montreal, David, an editor and novelist (chez Gallimard NRF)in Paris, and 6 grandchildren.An author, Harriet has written three humorous but informative books about her life inFrance. and the cultural differences she has perceived as an American« embedded » in France.Her bestselling account of her first impressions of France, French Toast: AnAmerican in Paris Celebrates the Maddening Mysteries of the French, remained inhardcover for 11 years, appearing in paperback in 2010. Diane Johnson, thebestselling author of Le Divorce, called French Toast « a classic » and « the goldstandard of books about the French ».It was followed by French Fried: The Culinary Capers of an American in Paris, apersonal account of French wining and dining viewed from her mother-in-law’skitchen and interviews with leading French food and wine experts.Her third book, Joie de Vivre (2012), delves into the French penchant for enjoying lifewith style and panache. Publisher’s Weekly wrote that « Rochefort...is a foreignobserver of what it means to be French and, with wit and a unique insight, offersadvice on loving life the way her adopted country does. »Published by St. Martin’s Press, all three of Harriet’s books about French mannersand mores have been translated into Chinese. A French version of French Toastwas published by Editions Ramsay in 2005Inspired by true events that took place in the seething cauldron of the southwest ofFrance three months before the D-Day victory and the tragedy of Oradour-sur-Glane,Harriet’s first novel, Final Transgression: One Woman’s Tragic Destiny in War-tornFrance, was published in May 2020. In his endorsement of the novel, eminenthistorian Robert O. Paxton, author of Vichy France: Old Guard and New Order calls it“historically well-grounded” and a “vigorous and compelling tale.”Harriet is a member of several professional writers’ organizations. They include PEN,The Authors Guild, and the Anglo-American Press Association in Paris where sheserved on the board for many years.A freelance journalist, Harriet has written scores of articles on French business,culture, travel and lifestyle for leading magazines and newspapers, including theInternational Herald Tribune (now the International New York Times), The AtlantaJournal and Constitution, Huffington Post, and Time magazine where she worked asa reporter in the Paris bureau for more than ten years. For Time, she covered manydifferent stories including the Klaus Barbie trial in Lyons, the arrival of Disneylandnear Paris and the controversy over the building of the Pei Pyramid in the courtyardof the Louvre.As a teacher and speaker, Harriet taught a reporting course in the internationalprogram of the Ecole de Journalisme of the renowned Institut d’Etudes Politiques deParis (Sciences Po) from 2007 to 2011. She regularly gives lively lectures on Franceand French-American cultural differences to associations, travel groups, anduniversity programs, such as the Sweet Briar Year Abroad, Smith/ParisTech Telecomand the International Media Seminar at the American University in Paris where she isinvited each year as the keynote speaker. She has spoken about her books at manyvenues in the U.S. and in France, including the American Library in Paris Eveningswith an Author.A true Francophile, Harriet loves French cooking which she learned from her Frenchmother-in-law who hailed from the Périgord, and has a particular affinitySupport the show🎨 Join my 2026 Tour of Christmas in France https://tourwithabsolutely.com/celebrity-tours/christmas-in-paris-with-krystal-aka-miss-paris-photo-your-american-photographer-abroad/