Miss Morgan's Book Brigade

Content Warning: The section of the guide features depictions of attempted sexual assault and wartime trauma.

An unnamed narrator (who is an elderly Marcelle) begins, “You can learn a lot about a life by looking in someone’s closet” (1), before describing the contents of hers, which includes the “horizon blue” uniform of members of the American Committee for Devastated France (CARD), whose members were known as Cards. She examines the uniform, including the silver griffin brooch that was the Cards’ symbol and a bloodstain on the sleeve. She puts on the uniform, clutches a handkerchief, and heads for the New York Public Library.

Jessie Carson narrates from the North of France in January 1918, 40 miles from the front. She describes the destruction she sees as she is driven to CARD headquarters by chauffeur Kate Lewis. As they make their way through checkpoints, Jessie recalls how a film commissioned by Anne Morgan to show the impacts of the German occupation had motivated her to join CARD, despite the condescension of her boss at the New York Public Library, Winnifred Smythe. Unlike most CARD members, who are heiresses volunteering their time, Jessie is in France on a salary, hired and paid by Anne Morgan.