You're absolutely right, I should clarify that I don't think all (or even most Francophile books commit the sin of superficiality. Some of my favorites (Harriet Welty Rochefort's come to mind) not only present a fuller picture of the French Woman (TM), but also offer a more balanced comparisons between French and American women. And I suspect that the titles and covers (with the ubiquitous Eiffel Tower and line drawings of mono-dimensional women sporting stockings and high heels) are mostly out of the writers' hands but are instead provided by publishers who somehow equate these books with nonfiction chick-lit.

Having said that, I can totally see where you're coming from vis-a-vis Ollivier's book and her lack of attribution to your blog post! I just scanned it today again and found just that passage. I find it difficult to believe that someone who calls herself a journalist — and backed by a major publisher, to boot — wouldn't have the intelligence to simply Google a line from the quote and trace its source. I've done it countless times with movie quotes, why not for blog posts?

Courage, mon amie!

Salut,
Marjorie

I do think, however, that a lot of the how-to-be-like a Frenchwoman books have a bit more depth than just lipstick, scarves, and food, despite their sometimes simplistic titles.

Ollivier herself says writing a book such as hers "runs the risk of exalting French women and, by default, dissing American women." And that is what she ends up doing, including not-so-subtly dissing her fellow authors in this genre or not giving them the credit they're due.

Of course, I have my own bone to pick with the author and publisher in that regard…