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The Librarians of Rue de Picardie
By Janet Skelslien Charles
Published by Atria Books - Simon & Shuster (Hachette Australia)
ISBN 9781035417896
Set in 1918 northern France, in the Great War, this is a remarkable novel based on true events with the main character Jessie Carson and her colleagues, the women who volunteered in the region of Picardie that had been devastated by war with Germany.
The strong and formidable woman, mostly drawn from wealthy families such as Anne Morgan, daughter of J P Morgan, were known as the CARDS (La Comite d'americain pour le region devasetee - American Committee for Devastated France,). Based in Blerancourt Chateau, their stories are brought to life as they helped women who had lost their husbands, fathers, sons, brothers
in the War and whose homes and farms had been bombed or obliterated by German soldiers. The members of CARD called themselves cards with several variations sccording to their roles.
Jessie Carson was the librarian who was on leave of absence from the New York Public Library (NYPL). This was a way to help people in these devastated areas and for her to escape from a prickly always complaining manager who shows up later in the story.
Jessie Carson set up libraries in the Picardie region with a focus on providing books for children as a means of escaping the devastation all around them. It truly is a joy to read how she did this and the growing popularity the libraries bring to both the children and the adults. Through these books they discover the treasures that lie within and enjoy the relief from the daily struggles.
Jessie Carson created libraries in almost every village and by hosting a story hour once a week, in each library it became a wonderful way of reconnecting communities with the people in the devastated villages, some who had become totally withdrawn and insular. Through her kindness and gentle way and she manages to get them back into being a part of communities and realising there is hope for the future.
Like all the members of CARD Jessie has a nickname, her was Kit, others included the two Annes, Breckie who is Mary Breckenridge, some related to their roles such as Cookie and so on. Kit has what appears to the people of the region and indeed France, a new way of setting up libraries which astounded some people. Much to their surprise she had open shelving built with a warm and welcoming ambience in the little space they had.
In this era very few women were librarians in northern France. It was seen as a male dominated occupation and they decided which books people could read depending on the borrower's social status. Jessie Carson was so surprised and so ensured that all books were available for whomever wanted to read them regardless of their social standing.
I get the impression that Jessie Carson was a breath of fresh air. While she was a respected librarian and this was her key role, she also helped many women who had suffered so much tragedy and loss. Another of her innovative ideas included initiating mobile libraries in their Ford trucks travelling from village to village which meant the CARDS could also reach the smaller communities.
A touching story based on truth that threads throughout the book is about a fifteen year old girl called Marcelle. She has a very strict mother and two young brothers. Her father had died in the War so naturally her mother became even more protective and initially was suspicious about these heiresses from America. But Marcelle was clever, spirited and eager to learn and her mother realised she could not hold her back. The other cards liked and admired Marcelle. They taught her to drive and how to fix a car which seen as unladylike by her mother but stood her in good stead as she mastered driving in the heavily rutted roads and as a local girl new the best routes to reach other villages and how dodge the German soldiers.
After the War Jessie Carson stayed on as did many other cards to help the people become re-established. Thanks to what she had achieved and her refreshing ideas she was invited to work in a library in Paris and after the War she established the library in Belleville a suburb of Paris that previously did not have a library.
Interspersed with the main story there is the story of creative writing student Wendy Peterson set in1987. Wendy works at the NYPL and has discovered the what appears to be the forgotten story about CARD's Jessie Carson's history. This is an interesting aspect about her life, her romance with another librarian, run ins with the highly critical Professor Hill, makes me wonder if this could be the author's own story,
The Librarians of Picardie is a wonderfully heartwarming gripping story showing the difference that a determined group of women can make to people's lives in the face of devastation. The author's ten years of research, inclusion of CARD member's photographs and her masterfully woven story of how Jessie Carson changed libraries and the literary landscape in France is a joy to read.
The author
Janet Skeslien Charles is an award-winning author with over a decade's worth of roaming the streets of Paris and researching in its libraries. Her debut novel, Moonlight in Odessa, was published in ten languages and was awarded the Melissa Nathan prize and the Completement Livre prize in Strasbourg.
Originally from Montana, as a child she lived on the same street as a French war bride and was fascinated by the war stories of her French professor. Until recently she taught in Paris, where she still lives.
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