I loved this story from start to finish! I was captivated by the main characters and their journeys. The two stories that were being told of women doing what they love and rising above their own self doubt and fears of “not measuring up” were well told. The loss they experienced and yet they persevered despite the set backs was inspiring. It was well written and captivating. I felt like I learned a lot about the characters as they journeyed through a devastating time with war and female oppression working against them. Yet they succeeded despite those odds.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an ARC of this book.

The historical elements of this novel, by the author of the best-selling The Paris Library, concentrate on the efforts of two formidable middle-aged women, both named Anne. When the war began, American heiress Anne Morgan opened her Versailles residence to convalescing soldiers. By 1916 she had founded the American Committee for Devastated France, or CARD, its French acronym. Her co-chair and life’s partner was physician Dr Anne Murray Dick. In 1917, with nine other women, they settled in Blerancourt in hard-hit northern France, to help the remaining civilians, mostly women and children, to recover and plan for peace. This part of the story is based on real characters and events. The two Annes, as they came to be known, were probably lovers. It was rumoured in their social circle that the doctor’s divorce was caused by that involvement.

The story is told by Jessie Carson, a New York City librarian who joins the CARD team in January 1918. As the Allies advanced, the fleeing German forces unleashed furious destruction. CARD’s objective was to rebuild houses and clear land. In doing so, they necessarily provided comfort, food, and rudimentary medical and welfare services, including a school for children whose schooling had ceased in 1914.
Jesse, one of the leading children’s librarians in the U.S, is determined to bring the healing power of books to the children of war. Despite many daunting setbacks and the sort of challenges that might be expected in setting up a library under such conditions, when all were supportive in principle but so many more immediate needs were far more pressing, Jessie Carson prevails.

The author captures the awe and anxiety, as well as the initial naïveté, that affect Jessie from the moment of her arrival. The Cards, as the girls call themselves, immediately nickname her Kit, after the pioneering female journalist of the times. On her own, and through the relationships she forges with the two Annes and her colleagues, we see how she is transformed by her experiences. There is love of many kinds. There is fear and sorrow that can’t be made to disappear, but her resolute belief in the therapeutic value of reading—since backed up by science—and her compassion for the children, carry her through.

The second point of view belongs to Wendy Peterson, who, in 1987, comes across the AFF newsletters in the NYPL. An aspiring writer completing an MFA, she is searching for a topic and is immediately entranced by the Cards. Some poking around in other archival collections brings her to Kit Carson, who will become a personal obsession as well as her dissertation focus. She will restore Jessie ´Kit’ Carson and her team to their rightful place in American war history.

This is a heartening story of a little-known aspect of women’s war work, and the author has done meticulous research to support her fictional characters through a believable narrative. I am more intrigued by the Card aspects and Kit’s efforts at work, friendship and romance than what happens with Wendy in 1987. This could be my own fatigue with the dual timeline approach, or it could be simply because Kit’s story is more interesting. Rebuilding war-devastated Europe is far more fascinating than NYC forty years ago. Taken together, though, this is a most enjoyable piece of historical fiction.