Miss Morgan's Book Brigade

February 19, 2024
Charles (The Paris Library) follows up her bestselling debut with a dramatic story of war and literature in WWI France. In January 1918, Jessie Carson, a librarian for the New York Public Library, accepts an invitation from Anne Morgan, the daughter of J.P. Morgan and founder of the American Committee for Devastated France (“CARD,” after the French name), to help establish a library for civilians living near the front lines in northern France. Overcoming worries that she won’t be up to the task, Jessie devotes herself to distributing books, especially to local children. A parallel narrative set in 1987 follows aspiring author Wendy Peterson, whose day job involves scanning old documents into the NYPL’s microfiche system. When Wendy comes across a box of CARD records, she’s instantly intrigued by the women who volunteered for the organization and determines to tell their story. Wendy’s interest is especially piqued by Jessie, as it’s clear from the records that she didn’t return to the NYPL after the war. Charles packs Jessie’s story with emotion, particularly in scenes where the librarian shares a French copy of her beloved Anne of Green Gables with a French girl, and when she takes comfort in her own love of reading during moments of despair. Bibliophiles are in for a treat. Agent: Heather Jackson, Heather Jackson Literary.

March 1, 2024
Charles follows up The Paris Library (2020) by returning to France, this time at the end of World War I. When librarian Jessie Carson goes to work for the American Committee for Devastated France (CARD) in 1918, she thinks she's going to be providing books to weary civilians traumatized by war. She soon finds herself doing far more--delivering food, driving ambulances, picking her way across minefields, and forging connections with courageous locals. In a parallel narrative, set in 1980s New York City, twentysomething Wendy spends her days in the basement of the public library digitizing documents, an outsider dreaming of becoming a novelist. Inspiration is in short supply until the day she comes across the historical records of Jessie Carson and CARD. What starts as a moment of curiosity soon has Wendy coming out of her shell and finding her writer's voice. The author's fictionalized depiction of historical figure Jessie Carson sensitively imagines her motivations and explores the concepts of grief and trauma, resulting in an inspiring novel that celebrates resiliency, community, and connection.

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April 1, 2024

Charles (The Paris Library) bases her new historical novel on the true story of Jessie "Kit" Carson, who joined the American Committee for Devastated France (Le Commit� am�ricain pour les regions d�vast�es de France, or CARD) during World War I. Through Kit's story, Charles highlights the efforts of a courageous group of American women working on the wars front lines in France and providing emergency relief to civilians in the devastated areas. Kit, a children's librarian, has taken a leave of absence from the New York Public Library to come to France to organize and run a library near the front lines that she hopes will bring the region's children joy through books. Kit goes on to turn ambulances into bookmobiles, train those who would be the first French women to become librarians, and form lifelong friendships while also overcoming past insecurities, all against the backdrop of an impending German offensive. Told from the alternating perspectives of Kit and Wendy Peterson, a writer and NYPL employee researching the CARD organization in the 1980s, the novel brings to light the work of librarians whose valiant efforts helped French citizens during the war. VERDICT A compelling remembrance of real librarians who could very easily have been lost to history. Readers who like historical novels with strong women characters will enjoy.--Lucinda Ward

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