Luncheon with "The Paris Library" Author, Janet Skeslien Charles!

Join New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the “captivating, richly drawn” The Paris Library, Janet Skeslien Charles, for a delicious lunch at Giuseppe’s Ritrovo and hear about her brilliant new novel based on the true story of Jessie Carson—the American librarian who changed the literary landscape of France during World War I.

A limited number of tickets at $55 will include lunch, the author talk, and Charles’ book (including tax), which she will sign after the program.

1918: As the Great War rages, Jessie Carson takes a leave of absence from the New York Public Library to work for the American Committee for Devastated France. Founded by millionaire Anne Morgan, this group of international women help rebuild devastated French communities just miles from the front. Upon arrival, Jessie strives to establish something that the French have never seen—children’s libraries. She turns ambulances into bookmobiles and trains the first French female librarians. Then she disappears.

1987: When NYPL librarian and aspiring writer Wendy Peterson stumbles across a passing reference to Jessie Carson in the archives, she becomes consumed with learning her fate. In her obsessive research, she discovers that she and the elusive librarian have more in common than their work at New York’s famed library, but she has no idea their paths will converge in surprising ways across time.

Based on the extraordinary little-known history of the women who received the Croix de Guerre medal for courage under fire, Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade is a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit, the power of literature, and ultimately the courage it takes to make a change.

Janet Skeslien Charles is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of The Paris Library. Her work has been translated into thirty-seven languages. She has spent a decade researching Jessie Carson (Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade) at The Morgan Library, the NYPL, and archives across France. Her shorter work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, The Sydney MorningHerald, LitHub, and the anthology Montana Noir.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Giuseppe's Ritrovo, 2268 East Main Street, Columbus, United States