author
Marguerite Bernard
A little-known early 20th-century writer, Marguerite Bernard is best remembered for co-authoring a heartfelt World War I story about a New York boy who helps support a French child. Her work blends everyday humor with a strong sense of kindness and wartime compassion.
1 Audiobook
Deer Godchild
by Marguerite Bernard, Edith Serrell
About the author
Marguerite Bernard is known today mainly for Deer Godchild, a short book written with Edith Serrell and published in 1918–1919 for the Fatherless Children of France. The story follows a twelve-year-old American boy who finds ways to earn money so he can help feed a child in France after World War I.
Modern catalog and public-domain records consistently link Bernard to this book, but they provide very little personal biographical detail. Because so little can be confirmed about her life, she remains a somewhat shadowy figure whose surviving reputation rests on this one compassionate, period work.
That makes Deer Godchild especially interesting: it preserves not just a story, but a moment in history, reflecting how ordinary people were encouraged to support children affected by the war. Bernard's name endures through that appeal to generosity and the book's warm, youthful voice.