World War II Journal & Letters, 1940 - 1946

A bound typescript containing what is essentially a diary written by a woman named Madeleine (“Mad”) documenting life in France between September 1940 and February 1945. An opening letter, dated April 10th, 1941 explains that the narrative was composed as a series of letters to Madeleine’s friends Polly, Alice, and Miss Franklin, with each of them receiving a third of the document, and she imagines that after the war, the three women will “have to join hands” in order to read the story in its entirety. Also in the initial letter, Madeleine indicates that the original documents were “keep hidden during the whole of the German occupation, for its discovery by them would have meant certain arrest and deportation – maybe worse.” She also speaks of the enclosed “metal strips…dropped by thousands by allied bombers” – presumably they were part of Madeleine’s package to Polly. The contents describe life during wartime in fastidious detail, from rations, looting, and friends’ experiences in prison to small acts of defiance such as women wearing red, white, and blue on Bastille Day. Descriptions of violence, bombings, and the joy of D-Day provide a very detailed personal account of the war. Two photographs of Madeleine herself are taped into the verso of the front flyleaf: one showing her as a young nurse in the First World War (1914) and the other a more recent image dated 1946. Pencil notes on the back of the older photograph indicate that Madeleine “was brought up in Newport [Rhode Island], went to the School of Design in Providence, and the family went back to France” after her father inherited some money. At the time Madeleine was writing the letters she was resident between Paris and Fontainebleau. Green binding, late 1940s or 1950s. Also including are four handwritten documents and letters addressed to Polly (also referred to as “Mary” by both Madeleine and the author of one of the letters): three appear to be in Madeleine’s hand, including a copy of the same initial letter printed in the typescript, and one by another friend with a note presumably in Polly’s hand saying to keep it with “Mad’s letters.” It appears that all of the materials contained in this collection belonged to Polly at some point.