The Personal Librarian has been an empowering read for me. Learning more about Belle, both the fascinating character she was historically and the fictionalized internal personality written here has been so interesting. Her struggles and conundrums are both specific to her time and eternal in their relatability. Additionally, I think it's especially important in our current circumstances to find and celebrate women of color in all their complexities. Belle's intelligence, cleverness, and ambition are inspiring for women of any time, but her struggle to balance her personal self with the roles women had available to explore in her lifetime (the traditional and the bohemian) were powerful and inspiring to me, especially when she wasn't certain her course was the right one.

Violence: Mild (references to racial violence such as lynchings, race riots, slavery; none experienced directly)
Language: None
Sex: Moderate (some physical intimacy, innuendo, implied homosexuality)
Drugs: Mild (alcoholism)
Other Content: Mild (abortion)

As a librarian I couldn't pass this one up and I am so glad that I didn't. This is such a fascinating account of Belle da Costa Greene, personal librarian to JP Morgan. Belle was born Marion Greener. Her black mother was able to pass as white and decided to move with her children, change their names, and live as a white family. As we see Belle's story as a successful woman who had to hide her true identity to fit in with her peers and avoid discrimination, we see the challenges she faced. I loved learning about Belle's life and seeing the history throughout. I definitely went and researched her more after reading this.
A good historical fiction account of a real librarian.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was an awesome read! I don't often read historical fiction but being a librarian, the title of this one caught my eye and I'm so glad it did! It read more like an memoir in some ways. Highly recommend for librarians or anyone interested in this field.

I really enjoyed this absolute gem of a novel. Belle da Costa Greene is an absolutely fascinating historical figure. True facts and literary license were blended seamlessly to create this interesting character. I loved all the notes in the back of the book. I wish we knew more about Belle, but one thing is certain: I think today she is finally getting the honor she deserves. Perfect for fans of Fiona Davis.

Thank you, Netgalley, for my arc.

I quite enjoyed this one. It was a little bit easy to see where it was going but still an enjoyable read.

Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray have written a fascinating account of Belle da Costa Greene, personal librarian to JP Morgan. Belle was born Marion Greener. Her black mother was able to pass as white and decided to move with her children, change their names, and live as a white family. Benedict and Murray present Belle's story as a successful woman who had to hide her true identity to fit in with her peers and avoid discrimination. Similar to other novels by Benedict, we learn about Belle's life and historical accomplishments with some fictionalization of her personal life. Reading this was enlightening and inspired me to learn more about this amazing woman.

Thanks to NetGalley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. What a novel! Benedict and Murray do an incredible job of portraying the journey of Bella de Costa Greene. As a librarian, I was swooning over much of the book for librarian-related excitement, but also for this story! They capture the internal struggle of every choice, every thought, every action and how each of those had to be carefully weighed and evaluated to continue to "pass". I can only imagine how exhaustive it was. Prior to this book, I hadn't ever heard of her-now, I wish her story was one of those "classroom stories" you hear about growing up. I also think she should be mentioned in Library Science school, because she forged so many pathways for women, BIPOC and women in various industries. Remarkable book.

Bella de Costa Greene is personal librarian to J.P. Morgan and has more power and prestige then other women of her time but she is hiding a secret, she is black and passing for white. It is a secret she struggles to keep in order to live her dream. But by keeping the secret can she truly be herself? A story of a woman not only surviving but becoming the best in an environment dominated by men.

Did not finish. The subject matter is fascinating but it didn’t hold my interest. Very repetitive. Much more could have been done.

Historical fiction lovers will quite simply devour this book. Great for book clubs and I would even recommend for higher English honors classes as an offering to choose from. While this is fiction, you’ll discover at the end of the book this was actually based on a real story and person. Historical stories should be shared, and this one is eloquently done!

Belle DaCosta Greene, aka Marion Greener, was the personal librarian to J.P. Morgan and was largely responsible for making the Morgan Library the jewel of a museum that it is. Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray have written a compelling novelization of her life and the costs to her of being one of the premier art and manuscript collectors of the early 20th century while also being a black(or colored, as it was known at the time) woman passing as white. The authors do a marvelous job of showing how difficult it was for her to balance her passion for art and the expectations of her mother to lead a more conventional life for a woman of that time, as well as how she was able to become a well-respected leader in her field in spite of it all .Her family story plays a large role in how she deals with her life and it opens the reader's eyes to what life was like for a black person trying to reach their full potential in a racist world.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this title! A intriguing historical fiction (differences from reality are noted by authors at the end of book) about a strong black woman of the early 1900s whose history is almost lost to the past. This novel allowed me to see life through her eyes and the eyes of a woman in an uncommon position for women in her time, a librarian. Not only that, a librarian to JP Morgan. On top of that she is a woman who must pass as white to maintain her position and to continue her life’s mission. There were passages more engaging than others as reflects real life but the overall portrait given to Belle is believable and engaging to follow. Would recommend to anyone looking to a fleshed out story for this remarkable woman. I certainly learned a lot!

The Personal Librarian is an historical fiction, portraying the life of Belle da Costa Greene, personal librarian to John Pierpont Morgan as he cultivated and curated a most impressive and expansive collection of rare books and art. Ms. Greene was an incredibly formidable and cunning businesswoman at a time when being a woman in business was a phenomenal and rare achievement on its own, but Ms. Greene’s success was even more hard-won and notable because she achieved it all while passing as a White woman in the early 1900s, attributing any darkness of her skin to a fabricated Portuguese grandmother. Born Belle Marion Greener, the daughter of Genevieve Ida Fleet, of a prominent Black DC family, and Richard Theodore Greener, the first Black man to attend and graduate from Harvard, former dean of Howard University, and a strong advocate for civil rights, Belle and her siblings adopted White identities upon Richard Greener’s separation from the family. There is very little known about Belle da Costa Greene’s life, even extending to the actual year of her birth, as she was an intensely private person and endeavored to burn all of her personal documents during her lifetime. Even more has been forgotten about her in the intervening years. This makes her both compelling and enigmatic as an individual, but presents some significant logistical challenges for any author attempting to accurately portray her life. Thus, Benedict and Murray were positioned to need to take some liberties. And, while I commend them for taking on this truly challenging and worthy project, I have objections about some of their creative decisions. I don’t feel I can review this work honestly without noting some of these points. My main point of contention is the way the romantic relationships are portrayed in this book. Greene is shown fixated on her relationships with men, specifically her longtime lover Bernard Berenson, an esteemed art historian, and her employer, John Pierpont Morgan. Vast portions of the book are dedicated to these men, with Greene concerned about her position in their lives, longing for Berenson or being scorned and heartbroken, or vacillating between a romantic connection with Morgan and maintaining a professional relationship. There is no mention of her rumored sexual liaisons with women, but, instead, Greene is portrayed holding, Morgan's youngest daughter, Anne Tracy Morgan's so-called “Boston Marriage,” against her in a move that would guarantee a social mutually assured destruction should Anne reveal Greene’s true background as a Black woman. Anne was, herself, pretty fascinating as a philanthropist and union activist in her own right. While there was reportedly some tension between the two women, the source of that tension appears to be unknown. In the authors’ note, Benedict and Murray disclose that they fabricated the nature of the conflict, which is disappointing. To my mind, it was not necessary to use Anne's sexuality against her. The tension that was built up was not worth the disparagement, and especially with the omission of Greene’s own romantic dalliances, which is troubling. Further, the authors include Greene’s abortion as a plot point, using it as the catalyst for the degradation of her relationship with Berenson, which feels fair enough, but they indicate that Greene continued to mourn the loss of his pregnancy throughout her life, and that does not appear to be accurate. While Greene did grieve it for a time, it did not plague her. I resent that abortion is once again framed as great loss in the life of an exceptional person, when that is often not the case and was, in fact, not the case for Greene. I respect that creating this narrative did require a lot of invention, but I wish the authors had chosen another path in this case and in the case of Anne Tracy Morgan. It feels very much like they did Greene a disservice and did not realize the full potential of her story.
After all of this, you may infer that I wouldn’t recommend this title, but I would, actually. I think The Personal Librarian, despite the concerns I raised, is a net good. Not the warmest endorsement, I know, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable recommending it without having aired some grievances first, especially when they touch on sexuality and reproductive rights. I’m quite fond of Belle da Costa Greene’s story and I would love nothing more than for her accomplishments to reach a wider audience. Plus, seriously, the amount of rare book nerding out you can do with this book, and the art, really, the art is phenomenal. To be clear, there are no images printed in the book, you need to have previous awareness of the art and artists mentioned or an internet connection and the ability to search it out, but it’s worth it. It really is. If you’re interested in an easy read about an unfortunately forgotten powerhouse woman from history, do go ahead and check out The Personal Librarian.

What an excellent history lesson.

I didn't know of Belle da Costa Greene.
What an incredible woman in so many ways.

Belle da Costa Greene has to hide her identity of being a black woman as she works as the personal librarian of J.P. Morgan in a high profile job. Her mother had listed the family's race as white for the census bureau against her husband’s wishes.

Belle’s life wasn't an easy one, but her skills at buying and selling art and archiving and cataloging books earned her respect in this field.

THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN is another extremely well-researched, interesting, brought-to-life book of an unknown-to-me woman.

Historical fiction fans and those who are fans of art will devour this book.

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book for background reading for a native ad program we ran for Berkley marketing. Because the book was so well received by the member-reviewers in our First Impressions Program, we also ran an additional editorial feature in our lead "This Week's Top Picks" block:

Personally, while I did not review it on BookBrowse, I rate it a solid 5, and have recommended widely when talking with individual readers, and groups:

Review:
https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/reviews/index.cfm/ref/jv273664/the-personal-librarian#reviews
Beyond the Book:
https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/btb/index.cfm/ref/jv273664/the-personal-librarian#btb

It wasn't until the ending notes of this book that I found out this "personal librarian" actually existed. She was hired in 1905 to be the personal assistant/librarian to J. P. Morgan. During her entire tenure with Morgan, she feared being found out. She knew her art work, ephemera, books cold. But she closely guarded her secret. She was passing.
In fact, her father was the first black to graduate from Harvard and worked to equalize treatment for his race. Her mother, on the other hand saw the best way for her children to get the best that they deserved was to pass.
One question not answered by this book. When was Bella's secret revealed.
Excellent writing had me on the edge of my seat multiple times.

Historical fiction telling the story of Belle de Costa Greene. After serving as a librarian at Princeton she is hired by J.P. Morgan to oversee his library. While in her late twenties she becomes the trusted person Morgan allows to help organize, plan and grow his library. Morgan lets her make acquisitions and represent him at auctions in the USA and Europe. Greene also has a secret. She was born colored and is passing for white because of her lighter skin.

I have been to the Morgan library a few times and never knew the story of his personal librarian. I have seen some of the items the book describes her adding to his collection. As a lover of art and museums this should have been a book made for me but I didn't find it compelling. I was happy to know her story and but I never felt connected to Greene. I like that she was highly valued by Morgan and what that would represent to women at the time. But I didn't care for the animosity between Morgan's daughter and Greene or their veiled threats. (I don't know if that was fictionalized or real.) Her love life was handled in a way that didn't make me connect with her either.

I was glad to know more about de Costa Greene and her place in history. And I will look forward to returning to the Morgan Library after reading this novel. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 stars.

An interesting story of J P Morgan’s personal librarian and her life. The secrets she lived with and the choices she made were fascinating. A part of history I knew nothing about. Marie Benedict does it again, and joining forces with Victoria Christopher Murray make this book a must read.

The Personal Librarian

Did you know that the woman who created The Morgan Library in New York was an African-American woman who passed for white for virtually her entire life? Neither did I. Until I read The Personal Librarian, which, though fictional, tells the story of the woman born Marion Greener who was known to most as Belle DaCosta Greene. Her mother insisted that the entire family pass as white in order to lead successful lives in early 1900s New York City. Incredibly, Belle became the woman who helped financier J.P. Morgan build The Morgan Library, which is filled with both art and rare books. Belle was so important to Morgan that he left her $50,000 ( in 1913!) in his will.

This book fascinated me on so many levels. First, even though I live in New York City, I had never heard the name Belle DaCosta Greene, who was arguably the most successful career woman of her time. Second, I have never before read fiction written by two authors. I thought it would feel choppy or disconnected, but Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray have managed to write as one. The narrative is seamless and consistent throughout. Further, the fact that one author is white and the other is black lends an authenticity to the story that either author could achieve on her own. I kept waiting for that horrible moment when Belle would be discovered and all would be lost. I was thankful and incredulous that this never happened. The few who knew her secret kept it, and she was able to live a life that would definitely not have been possible in our country at that time.