Miss Morgan's Book Brigade

By fictionalizing the stories of real historical women, Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade brings attention to the leadership and accomplishments of the women who in 1918 “stood as the bulwark to all civilization” (32). Though Anne Morgan’s American Committee for Devastated France and “book brigade” received attention during and immediately after the war, their impacts are rarely discussed or taught; the novel succinctly sums this up when Marcelle comments, “History books don’t tell the half of it,” and Wendy replies, “Especially where women are concerned” (263). From Wendy’s initial shock at the very existence of CARD to Professor Hill’s derisive demand that war stories include men, the novel subtly underscores how these women’s most celebrated efforts have been obscured, omitted, or overlooked. By giving voice to its women narrators and placing men on the periphery of the narrative, the novel explores the dignity and grace with which the women of CARD operated in France and the obstacles and criticisms they needed to overcome in order to do so.

Kit’s explicit admiration for the Cards, interwoven with Wendy’s passion for “herstory” and reporting of recorded historical facts, shed light on these impacts. Kit’s narration describes both Anne Morgan and Anne Murray Dike with awe, and the novel depicts through fiction many of the factual efforts of CARD in France.