The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

The remarkable, little-known story of Belle da Costa Greene, J. P. Morgan's personal librarian--who became one of the most powerful women in New York despite the dangerous secret she kept in order to make her dreams come true, from New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict and acclaimed author Victoria Christopher Murray.

In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture on the New York society scene and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps build a world-class collection.

But Belle has a secret, one she must protect at all costs. She was born not Belle da Costa Greene but Belle Marion Greener. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. Belle's complexion isn't dark because of her alleged Portuguese heritage that lets her pass as white--her complexion is dark because she is African American.

The Personal Librarian tells the story of an extraordinary woman, famous for her intellect, style, and wit, and shares the lengths to which she must go--for the protection of her family and her legacy--to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.

341 pages (June 2021)

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The Personal Librarian Book Club Questions & Discussion Guide from Libro Maniacs

 

To find a discussion guide for this book in the NoveList Plus database, go to the Library's website, click on Novelist under "We Recommend" → "Book Services". Click on "Book Discussion Guides" in the right sidebar on NoveList's home page. Then, either enter the title in the Search box or search for the title alphabetically. (You will need your Salt Lake County Library card number to access this resource outside a county library.)

 

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Marie Benedict's Website 

Victoria Christopher Murray's Website

Authors of 'The Personal Librarian' talk about their new novel (Good Morning America):

The Belle Greene–Bernard Berenson Letters Project (The Morgan Library & Museum):

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Title Read-alikes: An Illuminated Life: Belle da Costa Greene's Journey from Prejudice to Privilege by Heidi Ardizzone; The Gilded Years by Karin Tanabe; The Great Mrs. Elias by Barbara Chase-Ribould; Josephine Baker's Last Dance by Sherry Jones; Passing by Nella Larsen; The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett; Black Girls Must Die Exhausted: A Novel for Grown Ups by Jayne Allen; The Muralist by Barbara A. Shapiro; The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin; The Paris Library by Janet Skelien Charles; Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian; The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles; and The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis.