The Camp Fire Girls in Glorious France

In Short

This 1919 juvenile adventure novel follows a group of American Camp Fire Girls and their adult guardians navigating France during the final months of World War I and the subsequent peace negotiations. Moving from hiding near the front lines to a rented house in Versailles and the bustling streets of Paris, the girls engage in relief work, foster international goodwill, and organize local Camp Fire units. Written for young readers, the book endures as a vivid period piece capturing American idealist enthusiasm, wartime sacrifices, and the hopeful, emotional atmosphere surrounding the 1918 Armistice.

The Story

The narrative begins in March 1918 inside an old French farmhouse, where a group of American Camp Fire Girls sing their organization’s songs while looking out over a landscape scarred by conflict. As the German army launches a dangerous spring offensive, the Allied lines waver, forcing the guardian, Mrs. Polly Burton, and her young charges into hiding at the ruined Château Yvonne. The estate’s famous old oak trees have been destroyed by fire and shells, symbolizing the deep devastation wrought upon the French countryside. Trapped while waiting for their companions—Miss Patricia Lord, Vera Lagerloff, and Sally Ashton—Mrs. Burton makes the tough decision to send the main group ahead to safety in Paris under the care of motor driver Mary Gilchrist and guide Yvonne Fleury, while she remains behind to locate the rest of her party.

Eventually reunited along the crowded refugee roads, Miss Patricia and her companions demonstrate their practical compassion by distributing food, milk, and supplies to fleeing civilians. As the war draws to its dramatic conclusion, the group decides to remain in France through the signing of the peace treaties rather than returning home immediately. Miss Patricia rents a furnished home in Versailles to serve as a restful base near Paris, providing shelter and employment to local citizens, including a struggling French dressmaker named Marguerite Arnot and a widowed landlady, Madame Forêt.

Throughout the winter and spring, the girls immerse themselves in the life and culture of post-war France. Bettina Graham experiences an eventful night lost in the historic gardens of the Little Trianon while conceiving a historical story, leading to a meeting with an American, David Hale. Meanwhile, Sally Ashton struggles with hidden emotional fatigue and tension, which comes to a head when she intervenes in a heated street quarrel between a young French officer, Lieutenant Fleury, and an American soldier, highlighting the delicate interpersonal relationships between Allied allies.

The girls actively spread their movement’s ideals by helping Marguerite establish the first French Camp Fire unit in a cold Paris apartment for young war orphans. Miss Patricia conceives a grand vision to build a home on a historic battlefield for children whose fathers died in the war, dedicated as a monument to international unity. As the Peace Conference progresses and summer approaches, the main group prepares to scatter to new endeavors. Mrs. Burton, accompanied by Marguerite and five of the girls, departs from Boulogne on a cross-Channel steamer bound for England, reflecting on their shared experiences and the enduring bond forged with the people and land of France.

How It Unfolds

Hiding at Château Yvonne Surrounded by ruined grounds and facing an advancing enemy army in March 1918, Mrs. Burton insists that her Camp Fire Girls evacuate toward Paris without her. She trusts driver Mary Gilchrist to lead them while she stays behind to wait for lost members of their party.

Feeding the refugees Reunited along the packed roads, Miss Patricia Lord uses her supplies, horses, and cows to feed displaced civilians fleeing the front. Mrs. Burton finds her friend dispensing food to hungry crowds alongside local helpers before they seek shelter in a nearby cottage.

Settling in Versailles Following the Armistice, Miss Patricia rents a spacious residence in Versailles to house the group during the upcoming Peace Conference. The home becomes a center of hospitality, employing a local dressmaker and aiding war-affected residents.

Lost in the Trianon Bettina Graham spends a freezing night in the gardens of the Little Trianon daydreaming a historical romance about Marie Antoinette. She is rescued in the morning, exhausted and numb, which leads to new friendships with David Hale and Senator Georges Duval.

Lighting the fire in Paris Marguerite Arnot leads the American girls to a cold, bare tenement room in Paris shared by war orphans. By lighting a modest hearth fire, they officially form the first local French Camp Fire unit.

A vision of peace Looking out over the battlefields near Argonne, Miss Patricia proposes founding an international children's home on the hilltop. The proposed sanctuary aims to foster deep cross-cultural understanding among orphans of fallen Allied soldiers.

Crossing the Channel With their initial work concluded and the peace process underway, Mrs. Burton and several girls board a steamer for Folkestone. They bid farewell to the French coast, reflecting on their shared struggles and international camaraderie.

The People

• Mrs. Polly Burton: The group's devoted Camp Fire guardian and a former actress. She balances a deep sense of responsibility with a lively, slightly non-conformist spirit, constantly working to ensure the safety and moral development of her girls.
• Miss Patricia Lord: An outspoken, wealthy, and fiercely independent older woman. Though formidable and occasionally sharp in manner, her actions are driven by overwhelming generosity, from feeding refugees to funding local French workers and dreaming of international monuments.
• Bettina Graham: An imaginative and bright young girl nicknamed "Princess." Her romantic mind leads her into dramatic situations, such as getting trapped overnight in the historical Versailles gardens while drafting a story.
• Sally Ashton: A younger Camp Fire member who displays signs of emotional strain, fatigue, and sudden irritability following her wartime nursing duties. She struggles with her moods but retains a sharp, practical awareness of human friction.
• Marguerite Arnot: A talented young French dressmaker taken in by Miss Patricia. Grateful yet conscious of class differences, she works hard to support her orphaned friends in Paris and introduce them to the Camp Fire movement.

In Its Own Voice

"The ill, the hungry and dying, / Are they not calling you? / Back over the long trail moving, / Sing sweet, sing low, sing wide, / Following the law of loving, / France, we come to thy side!"

A group of American girls sing these modified Camp Fire verses outside a French farmhouse, expressing their dedication to relief work.

"Every one of us who has lived in France during the war will henceforward have two countries—his own and Glorious France!"

As the steamship departs the harbor, a British officer summarizes the deep emotional legacy shared by those who served in the war.

What It's Really About

Beneath its episodic adventure plot, the book explores the practical meaning of service, international friendship, and healing in the wake of total war. It contrasts the destructive mania of modern warfare with quiet, constructive acts of community building—such as sharing milk along a crowded road, hiring an impoverished dressmaker, or gathering wood for an orphan's hearth. The story emphasizes that genuine peace requires active empathy, cultural forgiveness, and cross-border understanding rather than political treaties alone. Through the Camp Fire philosophy, the narrative presents youth-led service as a vital force for rebuilding shattered lives and restoring human warmth to a traumatized society.

Why Read It Today

This narrative offers readers a fascinating contemporary window into the optimistic idealism that characterized American youth fiction immediately following World War I. Written in 1919, it captures the immediate, raw atmosphere of post-Armistice France—from the ruined estates and drafty Paris tenements to the diplomatic buzz surrounding Versailles. The prose reflects the period's earnest moral tone and sentimental patriotism, which may feel simple or unsophisticated to modern readers accustomed to complex historical fiction. Additionally, readers should expect romanticized portrayals of war work and structured social dynamics typical of early twentieth-century juvenile series.

Despite these period traits, the story remains engaging for its authentic atmospheric details and genuine warmth. It shines when detailing small, human moments: the coldness of an unheated apartment, the quiet beauty of frozen garden fountains, or the anxieties of young people trying to find their footing after widespread upheaval. Historians of youth culture, fans of vintage series literature, and readers curious about home-front and post-war international relief efforts will find it an endearing, earnest artifact of its era.