Author(s): Janet Skeslien Charles

Fiction (NR)

Under what was left of the roof of the ruined cottage, a girl with pigtails perched on a pile of rubble, hunched over a book...

1918: As the Great War rages, Jessie Carson takes a leave of absence from the New York Public Library to work for the American Committee for Devastated France, a group of women determined to rebuild devastated French communities just miles from the front.

Upon arrival, Jessie strives to establish something that the French have never seen - children's libraries.

She turns ambulances into bookmobiles and trains the first French female librarians. Then she disappears.1987: When NYPL librarian and aspiring writer Wendy Peterson stumbles across a passing reference to Jessie Carson in the archives, she becomes consumed with learning her fate.

In her obsession, she discovers that she and the elusive librarian have more in common than their work at New York's famed library, but she has no idea their paths will converge in surprising ways across time.

The New York Times bestselling author of the The Paris Library returns with a powerful, moving new novel based on the extraordinary true story of Jessie Carson, the American librarian determined to bring books to the children of war-torn France.

'I found myself captivated by this eye-opening book and reminder of the good that comes from dedicated hard work. I am grateful to Janet Skeslien Charles for educating me about the remarkable women of CARD' Goodreads reviewer

'I love books about libraries and books. The fact that this book is actually based off of real people is amazing. This book celebrates the contributions that these women made when they are usually swept under the rug. I loved Jessie so much, and I will be thinking of these brave women for a long time to come' Goodreads reviewer*

Published under the title Miss Morgan's Book Brigade in the US*Praise for Janet Skeslien Charles

'A wonderful novel celebrating the power of books and libraries to change people's lives' Jill Mansell

'Utterly charming' Natasha Lester'Heart-breaking and heart-lifting and always enchanting' Ruth Hogan

'I devoured The Paris Library in one hungry gulp . . . charming and moving' Tatiana de Rosnay

'Well-researched, stirring and rich with detail, an ode to the importance of libraries, books and the human connections we find within both' Kristin Harmel