Miss Morgan's Book Brigade

“She parked in front of the sliver of chateau still standing. In the moonlight, the tall sandstone castle resembled a satin wedding dress; the ruins of rubble stretched beside it brought to mind a lace train.”

Kit’s description of her arrival at Blérancourt captures several key ideas at once: the destruction of property inherent in the “sliver of chateau still standing,” the beauty she nevertheless sees in the surroundings, and her tendency to use figurative language and vivid images in her descriptions. Comparing the chateau to a wedding dress also carries the connotation of marriage and recalls Kit’s discussion with Lewis in the preceding pages, where both eschew the expectation that they should marry.

“Words were my life but now I had none. My heart ached for the families and all they’d endured. I didn’t realize that I’d balled up my father’s handkerchief in my fist until the terrier’s nose brushed my knuckles. Dogs always seemed to know when solace was needed.”

The phrase “words were my life” succinctly characterizes Kit, and the lack of them illustrates that Kit recognizes the level of devastation the French citizens have dealt with and the true measure of the task ahead. Her reference to the handkerchief introduces it as a symbol of comfort.

“‘Kids in the library?’ Marcelle uttered in the same incredulous tone one might say, Bear cubs in church? I imagined other unlikely things—a yak in the kitchen, a walrus in the chestnut tree, an owl in the abbey. I could illustrate a children’s book with amusing scenes. Then I imagined Miss Smythe scowling. Children don’t need fanciful. They need moral guidance.”

This quote captures several ideas at once: Marcelle’s marveling at the idea of allowing children into a library conveys to readers the reality of French libraries at the time, which were considered the domain of upper-class adults only. Kit’s imagining of unlikely things she could use to populate a children’s story characterizes her as creative and always thinking of how to entertain children with literature. It also shows how Winnifred’s voice in the back of her mind stills these creative impulses.

“‘Life’s made of small pleasures,’ Breckie said. ‘A cup of tea, a heart-to-heart with a friend, listening to a favorite song under the light of the moon. Pleasures that folks here don’t have time for. What you’re doing will benefit the whole family.’”

Breckie’s reassurance characterizes her as kind and supportive toward Kit. It also connects with the theme of Self-Discovery, Resilience, and Transformation—the small pleasures she lists are key to the villagers’ and Cards’ resilience as they cope with the traumas around them; Kit’s ability to make space for such moments shows her power to transform the community.

“In that world of welders and waitresses, of bankers and teachers, it’s impossible to understand something intangible like writing. The consensus: Not for people like us.”

Wendy describes the reason why she felt compelled to move from her hometown to New York City, and this shows a parallel between her and Kit. It suggests her aims in life were misunderstood by those around her, including her father, as Kit’s were in her own time. Being a writer, for Wendy, was a rebellion on par with Kit’s disinterest in marriage in favor of a career as a librarian.

“He held me too close. Or maybe I held him too close. Life was fragile. We only had this dance.”

Kit is slowly coming to realize the perils of life in a war zone, and the realization has made her want to live life on her own terms instead of worrying about what others think. Her acknowledgement that life is fragile subtly foreshadows the brevity of her time with Tom, in which they had time for only a few dances before he was killed in combat.

“In the February 5, 1922, edition of the Tulsa Daily World, the syndicated article ‘Women Who Refuse to Wed Called Menace to the Race’ cites Anne Morgan, ‘cultivated woman of the world and philanthropist,’ along with Queen Elizabeth I and Florence Nightingale as the ruin of society because ‘quality’ women like these remain ‘willfully celibate.’ According to Dr. Sargent, ‘[…] True she leaves a legacy of achievement in art, science, literature or in service to humanity, but along with this she might as well have several children.’”

Wendy’s research includes this historical article, which provides context for a misogynist line of thought that was prominent at the time. Allusions to Queen Elizabeth I and Florence Nightingale suggest that no matter what these world-changing women accomplished, it was insufficient, and even dangerous, to humanity because they had not passed on their “quality” DNA to male children. The quotation emphasizes the disdain with which prominent men disregarded women’s “legacy of achievement,” developing the idea that The Impacts of Women in History were often overlooked.

“‘She wants you to be happy.’

Jeanne’s brow furrowed. ‘She wants me to be safe. It’s not the same thing.’”

Jeanne points out that her mother would rather keep her at home—safe but unhappy—than risk her getting hurt by falling in love with Henri and losing that love. Her statement underscores a message connected to Self-Discovery, Resilience, and Transformation: Only by taking risks can people learn who they are and how to be happy, a lesson that is central to both protagonists’ journeys.

“Reading about the balmy summer days before World War I is akin to observing a chess match in which at least two pieces are in motion at all times. It’s not first a pawn, then a rook, but rather a swirl of knights seeking support. Half the board is hidden from view. Kings and bishops are on holiday as Europe lurches toward catastrophe.”

The metaphor Wendy creates when describing her research into World War I emphasizes the chaos and miscommunications that led to the war. By comparing it to a chess match, she conveys the sense that diplomats approached the conflict like a game while leaders abdicated their responsibility, unable to predict the cost of their arrogance.

“Mourning is a winding path. Sometimes the walk is invigorating, and I feel fine. Then one word, one memory, and I trip and tumble to the ground. Pebbles of memory break through the skin of my palms. It hurts so much I can barely breathe.”

Sidonie describes her feelings to Kit when she is reminded of her husband and daughter’s deaths. She uses the extended metaphor of the path to physically describe the emotional pain she feels and the suddenness with which it sometimes overtakes her. Her description develops the novel’s exploration of the impacts of trauma and loss, and develops Sidonie’s character by showing her growing willingness to talk about her grief and find a way forward.

“I can’t help but wonder what the before-and-after photos of my life will look like. Before I get my master’s in creative writing and after? Before I publish and after? Before and after my first date with Roberto?”

Wendy reflects as she looks at pictures of Kate Lewis before she joined CARD and after she got married. Her reflection suggests life is divided into a series of before-and-after moments, pivotal moments that change the course of events, as wars do to the world or climactic scenes do in a narrative. Her list of personal before-and-after moments outlines her goals and priorities.

“Don’t blame the map! Blame the German army. They annihilated entire towns. […] [H]is map is not that old. At the current rate of work, it’ll take three hundred years to clean up the Red Zone. To put it bluntly: This is the Chernobyl of France.”

Wendy is surprised when a map she finds of the area surrounding Blérancourt is missing several places she’s read about; the map librarian’s knowledge demonstrates the value of librarians and the work they do. The allusion to the nuclear disaster Chernobyl, which happened in 1986 and is therefore still fresh in the minds of most people during Wendy’s narrative in 1987, makes the abstract ideas on the map more concrete for her. Coming structurally just before the chapter about the evacuation of Blérancourt, it emphasizes the danger the Cards are in and builds suspense about what will happen to Kit.

“She was at the kitchen table, having a cup of tea. Much like the first day we met. Cannons only kill people who have something to live for, she’d said.”

Kit goes to encourage Sidonie to evacuate Blérancourt in the face of the German offensive. Finding a tableau that mirrors their first meeting and recalling the defeat in what Sidonie said to her that day marks the progress Kit has made: When Sidonie agrees to leave it acknowledges that she has something to live for and hope for the future.

“Mostly, I feel at a distance from people, like we’re in a subway station, and they’re on a different platform. I can’t cross the tracks to join them, and the noise from the trains is so loud I can barely make out what they’re saying.”

Skeslien Charles uses a simile of the subway station to explain the distance Wendy feels from people and her difficulty in understanding or feeling understood by them. The simile plays a role in communication, since it constructs her feelings in a way that Roberto can picture. By communicating this to Roberto, Wendy is acknowledging that it is something she would like to change.

“On a particularly rough day, I took refuge in the stacks. Touch the gold lettering you loved as a child, I told myself. It’s like the tinsel that glints on the Christmas tree. List the books that you loved best, like Madame Petit recites prayers on her rosary.”

Kit’s retreat to the library of her mind conveys The Value of Literacy as a Means of Connection and Escape. By comparing books to Christmas tinsel or prayers, the author aligns Kit’s literary rituals with tradition and faith, showing that this is a sacred for her.

“Old age spent together in a small town, where the biggest news would be not war but rather a stubborn filly who refused to leave the meadow in a downpour. Though the owner tugged on her bridle, the horse resisted because she instinctively understood the restorative power of rain.

This is what death does. It steals what is ours.”

The vividly detailed imagery of the filly in the downpour shows that the simplicity of the life Kit envisioned with Tom was real to her, something she grasped before it was “stolen” by his death. By having the filly defy her owner’s urging, the image also represents Kit’s choice to defy her mother’s efforts to protect her from hardship, connecting to the motif of mothers and daughters. The “restorative power of rain” suggests that sometimes people must experience suffering for growth, connecting back to Kit’s earlier assertion, “There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm” (22).

“No one helps others like this, giving years of their lives for no reason. And where are the men? How can you have a war without men?”

Professor Hill’s critique of Wendy’s chapters and doubt about the Cards’ motivations illuminate their extraordinary selflessness by contrasting it with his belief that all people are inherently selfish; it also reminds Wendy and the reader that history is a matter of perspective. Hill’s indignation at the idea of a war story without men develops The Impacts of Women in History; framing this as a question employs rhetoric to imply the irony of only focusing on men’s impacts and to engage the reader.

“I put my sister’s words back in the envelope. I imagined her at the telegraph office, deciding which words to use. Each hard to tell me, each so expensive. Each word cost her, each painful to utter.”

Skeslien Charles uses synecdoche in Kit’s response to her sister’s telegram; the physical words on the page represent the message they contain, and putting them back in the envelope suggests a wish to repress the sadness of this news. The double meaning of “cost” connects the literal, physical act of paying for each word and letter with the figurative, emotional toll of sending news of their mother’s death.

“Miss Morgan permitted herself a satisfied smile. When politicians and businessmen heard the Morgan name, they bent over backward—or in this case, traveled to the backwaters—to meet her. She was our Drawing Card.”

Kit calls Anne Morgan the “Drawing Card” to convey the magnetism imparted by her wealth and status. It acknowledges a practical reality of CARD’s mission: Anne’s connections are what make it possible, and without her leveraging this to get the attention of those in power, their work would likely have been lost to history.

“From now on, I would make my thoughts known. I would defend my ideas. I would no longer retreat to the library of my mind. I would remain in the real world, among disagreements and uncomfortable moments. I would have my say.”

Kit experiences an epiphany that leads to a pivotal moment in her path to Self-Discovery, Resilience, and Transformation. Facing Winnifred has forced her to hold her own and defend her ideas. By vowing to leave the library of her mind, Kit dedicates herself more fully to the libraries she can and will build in the real world.

“You must mark the victories. In CARD, Breckie measured every gram that spindly babies gained, Kit noted every book my rowdy brothers checked out. When you look for the positive, you find it.”

Marcelle shares this philosophy with Wendy. It highlights the power of hope and focuses on celebrating small victories as essential to resilience, a belief that is central to the Cards’ characterization as well as the novel’s themes.

“In the previous draft, I captured the triumphs, the times everyone got along. Now, I map the disappointment, the frustration.”

Wendy’s efforts to write about the Cards have emphasized ​The Preservation of Cultural Artifacts; looking at them from a different angle develops the importance of carefully interpreting those artifacts. Wendy’s willingness to re-examine her views at Professor Hill’s urging marks a personal growth for her, and reminds readers that all histories have more than one version.

“Perhaps the magic of Paris helped heal us further. We allowed ourselves to gawk at the sights. In the Louvre, we admired the Winged Victory of Samothrace, spreading out our arms as if we, too, had wings.”

The Winged Victory of Samothrace, still on display at the Louvre thanks to The Preservation of Cultural Artifacts, is an ancient Greek statue that represents the goddess Niké; it may have been an offering to thank the gods for an important victory. In this context, the characters’ act of spreading their wings in the manner of the statue represents their own victories, especially the spiritual victory over the traumas they have experienced, which Kit says Paris helps heal.