Miss Morgan's Book Brigade

by Janet Skeslien Charles

As Willa Cather wrote, Trees were so rare in that country, and they had to make such a hard fight to grow, that we used to feel anxious about them, and visit them as if they were persons

I watched the duo exiting the imposing oak door of the château and recognized Anne Morgan from newspaper photos. With her wealth, one might have expected to read about her in the society pages—where she wintered and which duke asked for her hand in marriage. Instead, front-page profile pieces described her advocacy for working women—pushing for better salaries, safer conditions in factories, and paid vacation.

you might think that the French population was entirely made up of men. Yet while they were off fighting, wives, widows, mothers, and daughters held the country together. Genteel women who hadn’t been allowed to work or study at university were now supposed to be nurses and doctors, teachers and farmers. Livestock and machinery had been commandeered for the war effort, so women tilled the fields like oxen. They worked to provide for families. Is anyone writing about them?

“It’s normal to doubt. Philosophers question everything, and we must, too. Are there people you believe in?” “I believed in my husband. And in my baby girl.” “I wish she’d had the chance to know you, to love you.” “Me, too,” she sighed. We were quiet for a time. Finally, she asked, “What do you believe in?” “I believe in books. In friendship. In potatoes smothered in butter and dill.”

“I’m sorry that you lost your mother,” she said. “I suppose that the best ones are like mine. Somewhat annoying, forever pushing you to do what you don’t want to do. But gentle, too, like a pillow that softens a thousand blows from this hard life.”

When Miss Morgan and Dr. Murray Dike denied me a bonus, I felt hard done by. How I wish I hadn’t overheard that unfortunate conversation. “After all I’ve done!” I told Max, before explaining how the class system that many pretend doesn’t exist keeps the rich rich and the poor dependent upon them. He wagged his tail through my tale of woe.

“I know you’re disheartened,” she said. “But don’t become bitter because of one heedless decision. It’s true, folks will disappoint. Sometimes, those closest to you disappear in an hour of need, while strangers surge to attend to you. Or the people closest to you don’t understand, while others give more grace than you deserve. And let’s be honest, growing up, you weren’t exactly easygoing.” (I know I was difficult with her.) “There will be people,” she continued, “who don’t recognize your contributions, while others give you your due. Yes, one Anne disappointed you, but remember, that French archivist sang your praises and invited you to work in Paris.”

The wealthy give no thought to the harm they do.

the importance of libraries for children and the working class. The libraries she founded featured children’s sections and open-stack systems—both unheard of in France at the time.

With Carson at the helm, CARD founded five libraries and created fifty circulating libraries in the North. It financed the development of Frenchwomen in library science by sending students to school in the United States. In Paris, Jessie Carson created a library in Belleville, a working-class neighborhood. That library celebrated its centennial in 2022.

One of my goals in writing this book was to show the courage of the Cards and how they remained until the people in the region were again self-sufficient. With American, British, Canadian, and French volunteers, there was an incredible exchange of knowledge. Thanks to their curiosity, generosity, and open-mindedness, Cards accomplished great things during and after World War I, in France and at home.

There is still work to do in France. Over one hundred years after World War I ended, the Red Zone still exists. This area was defined just after the war as “Completely devastated. Damage to properties: 100%. Damage to agriculture: 100%. Impossible to clean. Human life impossible.”