My book club, IWBC (Interesting Women Book Club), chose a book about a very interesting woman this month. Interesting, but all but forgotten, Jessie Carson was a librarian who stepped out into the unknown to help bring the love of reading to a war torn world. Her story is told in Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles. I loved this book with all its references to classic literature and the unassuming main character’s unwavering determination. Really, all the characters were great, and I loved that most were based on real life people. I have read my fair share of books set in WWI, but never really read about the life of civilians so close to the front. In a world where women and children lived in bombed out shells of buildings and were exposed to conditions deemed unfit for human habitation, a small but important group of American women made sure that those left near the fighting received as much care as possible. And isn’t it wonderful that a reading life was as important as vegetables to eat and water to drink?! I can’t wait to discuss this book with my group — there really is so much to talk about.

If you love books and reading and libraries and history, then you really need to pick up Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade. Please note this is a general market offering, so there is some adult situations. I skipped over one of those — it really didn’t add or take away from my enjoyment of the book.

Recommended.

Great for Book Clubs.

Audience: Adults.

(I purchased the ebook from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) ( )

Set at the end of WWI this is a story with real people including the main characters. It is a well researched book and I am not sure it needed the story from 1987. I think more details of Kit life after the war would have been nice. The war left over 500 miles of France a waste land. Libraries rule ( )

From 1918 a group of international women are helping devastated French communities rebuild as WWI rages on. Jessie Carson is one of these women and hers is a story worth reading. It falls to a librarian in 1987 who finds a “passing reference” to take on the research and piece together the story of the American Committee for Devastated France. Founded and funded by Anne Morgan, heiress to the Morgan banking fortune, with her companion Dr. Anne Murray Dike, they championed a contingent of wealthy debutantes. These women lived, worked, saved lives and created hope for the French villagers.

This is another story about the horrors of The Great War with a meaningful twist relating the power of kindness and the connection that was made with the offer of a book. Knowing a story, offering a novel, a chance to escape if only for a few hours, we all know how therapeutic it can be. Jessie Carson found a way to reach the helpless and almost hopeless and gave them a reason to continue and look to the future.

I enjoyed this very well written book which had a feeling “of the time”. My thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy. ( )

I thought I had read enough World War I and/or II books, but I couldn’t resist this one based on the true story of Jessie “Kit” Carson, a young American librarian who travels to France to work for the American Committee for Devasted France in 1918. This group, called CARDs, is composed of women, mostly socialites, who helped rebuild devasted French communities just miles from the front lines. The group is headed by millionaire Anne Morgan, and with her support Kit is recruited to establish children’s libraries. So that’s where “Miss Morgan” of the title comes from. But this is really Kit’s story.

I found it a fascinating piece of little-known history of these women who received the Croix de Guerre medal for courage under fire. As the publisher notes, this novel “is a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit, the power of literature, and ultimately, the courage it takes to make a change.”

The novel alternates between two timelines, 1918 during the Great War, and 1987, when aspiring writer Wendy Peterson discovers a reference to Jessie Carson and becomes obsessed in researching the young librarian from the New York Public Library, who isn’t a socialite like the other volunteers. In researching Kit’s tale in hopes of writing about her, Wendy felt “like a detective, a literary detective with a real live clue.”

While reading Kit’s story, and following Wendy’s research as she uncovers that story 70 years later, the novel includes many noteworthy quotes about books, reading, why we read, and quotes about life and living taken directly from classics including some of Kit’s favorites: "My Antonia," "Emma," and "Madame Bovary."

There were so many phrases and thoughts I would have underlined if it hadn’t been a library book. A few of them were:

“A town needs a library in the same way that a home needs a hearth.”

“Sharing our love of stories, seeing children happy – this was what made our profession a joy.”

“Books, newspapers, and journals contained our past, the way we saw things, and the way we wished things would be. They carried our longings, our dreams for children, an hour of escape, and an education.”

“Why we read – to know that others feel the same, that we’re not alone.”

I enjoyed this fascinating tale of historical fiction depicting brave women and the power of libraries and librarians. It is a story of how books inspire, rescue, and provide hope. I highly recommend! ( )

A book about a librarian with a historical setting. What's not to like. it is a fascinating story of women, mostly socialites, who go to Northern France during WW I to help villagers rebuild. Their challenges and the danger they face make this a page turner. ( )