author
Elsie Deming Jarves
An American writer and witness to World War I, she is best known for a vivid firsthand account of life and relief work in Brittany during the war. Her writing brings together personal courage, local detail, and a strong sense of compassion.
1 Audiobook
War Days in Brittany
by Elsie Deming Jarves
About the author
Published in 1920, War Days in Brittany is the work most clearly associated with her. In it, she recounts her experiences in Brittany, France, during World War I and writes about caring for wounded soldiers and the strains of wartime life.
The book itself notes that she received the silver medal of the Reconnaissance Française for her devotion to the wounded, and it also identifies her as an Officier de l'Académie. Those details suggest that her service in France was recognized as well as remembered.
Little biographical information beyond her wartime work is easy to confirm from readily available reliable sources, but her surviving book still offers a memorable picture of endurance, generosity, and everyday life under pressure.