A Poppy in Remembrance is a coming-of-age novel set against the backdrop of World War I.
Here’s a short description:
Spanning three countries and the four years of World War I, this is the epic story of an American woman struggling to become a journalist in a man’s world. As she searches for where she belongs—spiritually, professionally and emotionally—Claire Meacham discovers God and love through her relationships with Oswald and Biddy Chambers, an earnest YMCA worker, and a dashing New Zealand soldier, all the while seeking that elusive byline.
And a more detailed one:
American Claire Meacham, 20, works as a stenographer in London for her journalist father, Jock Meacham, at the start of World War I.
She’s trying to figure out how to convince her parents she should be a journalist instead of a history teacher when the war diverts her path in unexpected ways.
She meets Rev. Oswald Chambers at his Bible Training College and over Jock’s objections, Claire is drawn into life at the BTC, where she meets her God. Jock’s job takes the family to Cairo at the same time the Chambers family moves there to work at a YMCA encampment.
Claire finds her loyalties divided between a YMCA worker and a New Zealand soldier, while her reporter duties increase.
Her hostile father demands she choose between her family and her faith–a choice Claire has no desire to make.
As the war grinds on and death stalks loved ones, Claire encounters many experiences which try her soul, her emotions and her job.
You’ll have to read the entire book to find out what happens in Paris on November 11, 1918.
You can purchase the book here:
Endorsement
“A Poppy for Remembrance immersed me in the World War I era, when courage vied with despair and hope was elusive.
“As a former journalist, I was fascinated by the details of news reporting in those days; as a reader I was entranced by the stories of Claire, Jim, Jock, and Nigel, whose fictional lives are masterfully woven into the true-life tapestry of Oswald and Biddy Chambers.
“Anyone who’s ever read My Utmost for His Highest will love this book. I surely did.”
Linda J. White, national award-winning journalist and author of six novels.
Why write about World War I?
In 2013, an editor called my agent looking for someone to write an inspirational novel that began the day WWI began and ended the day WWI ended.
While discussing the idea, I suggested the Oswald Chambers story could provide a backdrop for an inspirational story set during the war.
He basically led a revival among ANZAC troops in Egypt.
My agent asked, “Can you write it?”
There’s only one answer to such a question from your agent. “Sure.”
That set me off researching and writing about World War I ever since.
You can read the full story here.
A surprising result of the research
I’ve written more than 50 blog posts about World War I as a result, and more than 100 posts about Oswald and Biddy Chambers.
The biography I wrote, Mrs. Oswald Chambers, was the direct result of the research I did while writing the book.
Through my blog posts, I tell the stories behind the writing and include scenes from the novel.
Among them are:
The significance of poppies and WWI.
The question of cowardice and being awarded a white feather
The challenges of researching Egypt
Oswald, Biddy, and Kathleen Chambers
Oswald, Biddy, and Kathleen are “marquee characters” in A Poppy in Romance. That means they’re real-life people who appear in a novel as themselves.
The most widely read blog posts on this website are about Oswald, Biddy, and Kathleen Chambers. I wrote them because of the research I did for this book.
One answers the perennial question–which is closely examined in the novel, A Poppy in Remembrance: “Why did God allow Oswald Chambers to Die so Young?”
Another describes the life of a toddler in a World War I army camp: Kathleen Chambers: Little Girl in a WWI Camp.
One early reader, a missionary in Papua New Guinea wrote about the effect of A Poppy in Remembrance, to her:
“I spent yesterday reading and finished A Poppy in Remembrance.
“Michelle, I am deeply moved. Oswald and Biddy came alive. In this book, you showed us OC’s legacy. How their simple ministry bore fruit.
“This book truly is the companion book to Mrs. Oswald Chambers in many ways. So much grief, yet there is always hope.”
Another reader described the novel as, “answering the question: what would it have been like to study under Oswald Chambers?”
In addition, I used themes from My Utmost for His Highest as the “backbone” for A Poppy in Remembrance.
But it’s also about a woman’s role in journalism in the early 20th century.
Claire Meacham wants to be a foreign correspondent like her father–but how can she break into such a male-dominated position?
One newspaper reporter read the opening and said, “It brought back to me all the wonderful things about journalism in the past.”
Trained as a newspaper reporter in college, I remembered my early years–and mistakes–when like Claire I was trying to figure out just who I was and what I wanted to do with my life.
Claire reflects on the example set by her heroine, reporter Nellie Bly, and reacts with horror when she visits the site of the first Zeppelin attack on British soil.
She envies Mary Roberts Rhinehart’s trip to the front and fumes she can’t go, too.
And there’s love, too.
“Will I always be torn like this, between what a man expects of me and what I want?” Claire asks.
She wonders at the hallmarks of a good marriage.
Biddy Chambers sets her to examining Ephesians.
Claire realizes what she wants is a marriage of love and respect like that of her parents. Is that the type of relationship in which she finds herself?
And, finally, how do you choose to marry or not when the stakes are so high?
You can now purchase A Poppy in Remembrance here: https://amzn.to/2OiMdG6
What are people saying about A Poppy in Remembrance?
Endorsements:
“Michelle Ule has done a great job of making history come to life in A Poppy in Remembrance, as her journalist character covers the events of World War I while also experiencing its sorrows.
Readers will cheer on Claire as she pushes for recognition and independence as a female reporter while at the same time her dependence on the Lord deepens.
Dramatic history, engaging characters, and wartime romance make A Poppy in Remembrance a story you don’t want to miss.” ~Ann H. Gabhart, best-selling author of River to Redemption
Linda J. White, national award-winning journalist and author of six novels.
A Poppy for Remembrance immersed me in the World War I era, when courage vied with despair and hope was elusive.
As a former journalist, I was fascinated by the details of news reporting in those days; as a reader I was entranced by the stories of Claire, Jim, Jock, and Nigel, whose fictional lives are masterfully woven into the true-life tapestry of Oswald and Biddy Chambers.
Anyone who’s ever read “My Utmost for His Highest” will love this book. I surely did.
Articles and Interviews
The Eric Metaxas Show
Eric Metaxas on my writing A Poppy in Remembrance:
“That wasn’t a serendipity [the story of Oswald Chambers death photos] that was a miracle!”
Living Our Days: Oswald Chambers’ Message in the Midst of War
Michele Moran’s writing itself is so beautiful:
“In A Poppy in Remembrance
, Michelle Ule, author of the biography covering the life of Chambers’s wife Biddy, has applied her sanctified imagination to a subject she knows well–the lives of Oswald and Biddy Chambers–and has created a cast of realistic and relatable characters who were impacted by the Chambers’s ministry.
“Ule anchors her characters in early 20th century England and France with vivid multi-sensory descriptions of honking taxis and rumbling horse-drawn transports that combined for nose-assaulting bedlam — this along with an affluent socialite aunt who played bridge with “Clemmie” Churchill and a worship service in which Robert E. Lee’s disenfranchised daughter turns up veiled in black and wandering Europe.”
Worship with Words
Elizabeth Hoagland:
“I was beyond elated to learn A Poppy in Remembrance presents Biddy and Oswald Chambers, who blissfully cross paths with the novel’s main character, Claire Meacham. I felt as if celebrities appeared right in front of me when Claire got to meet Oswald and Biddy.”
Writing at the Intersection of Our Plans and God’s Purpose
Mary Kay Moody:
“Ule’s characters are realistically drawn with a wide variety of personalities, points of view, and burdens. Dialog is crisp, never superfluous. Ule’s descriptions are gripping, fresh, and engage the senses. The settings are captured so well that, rather than simply reading, at times I seemed to look at a painting. Other times, the sights and sounds were so real, I felt as if I’d stepped into a new land.”
Twogirlsandabook blog
Kristi’s Thoughts:
“Prepare to be swept away to WWI in this book from Michelle Ule. Set in England, France, and Egypt, this book tells the story of a young woman trying to pursue her dream of becoming a reporter and how the war and those she meets along the way change her life. This is a story I will long remember.”
Cathy wrote a second review here.
“A Poppy in Remembrance is one of the most artfully crafted novels that I’ve had the pleasure of reading.
“The fact that the author touched on the family dynamic and not just the ugliness of the war was something else that made me love this book. There is something going on all the time in this book and yet Ms. Ule does an exceptional job of tying the characters together and leaving no loose ends. “
Book Fun Magazine (page 78)
Nora St. Laurent wrote:
“I couldn’t put this novel down as I became attached to this cast of characters and their situations; which showed no one was left untouched by war. The author paints a realistic view of the battle and the family dynamic I hadn’t realized and/or thought about before.
“I liked that the story had hopeful and tender momentsamidstt the ugliness of war. These characters and their situations will stay in your heart long after you close the book.”
Sarah Sundin’s website
“A sweet and touching romance adds to the appeal of this beautifully written novel. Highly recommended!”
The Press Democrat Bookworm Book Review
Rachel Schmoyer
“Michelle Ule did a fantastic job conveying the horrors of World War I without being graphic. There are no details in the book that will keep you up at night, but it will impress upon you that World War I was an awful war where many men lost their lives for all sorts of reasons.”
Emily Yager
“As must read for anyone who loves reading about history, WWI, or strong Christian people and their faith.”
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