Fascinating Story of an Amazing Woman (2/1/2021)
Once I started reading The Personal Librarian, I couldn't put it down and finished it the same day. What a truly remarkable story about Belle Da Costa Greene who became the personal librarian and curator of J. P. Morgan's unequaled collection of illustrated medieval manuscripts, incunabula ( books printed before 1500) and rare paintings.

Belle's father, a trailblazer himself, introduced Belle to at an early age. At one time she was one of the most successful business women in America, an outsider in numerous ways invited to and attending engagements with the New York elite of the gilded age. Yet, I'd never heard of her until reading this novel. This is a woman I would have loved to know. (less)

Based on a real person, Belle daCosta Greene, in charge of the Pierpont Morgan Library in its beginnings circa 1905, this novel presents an unusual insight into racial issues in a different time and cultural milieu. Belle passed as white, but according to the authors, suffered every day from the anxiety of hiding her real identity. Her family was split by this issue, but all were highly educated and encouraged ambition and lifelong learning. Those readers interested in ancient manuscripts and their acquisition might enjoy the descriptions and collector’s motivations, along with the personal details of life among the very rich.

I have read and enjoyed other Marie Benedict's books, heard of this one she coauthored and the subject matter; added it to my want-to-read shelf. I have been looking forward to this book since August 2020, excited when I received it 1/26/21. I began reading reading immediately.

Travel back to November 1905, Princeton University in New Jersey
she is a librarian in all-male institution when life changes for her!

The descriptions of library/librarian matches my own.

(I have many more notes, need to check final copy before I post)
I highly recommend this book!!

As a retired public librarian, I was drawn to this title for obvious reasons. Yet I was unprepared for the non-stereotypic, incredible story of Belle de Costa Greene, personal librarian to J.P. Morgan. This fictional account of Belle Marion Greener, who became de Costa Greene in order to hide her racial heritage is a history lesson both fascinating and humbling.
While “passing” is a fundamental theme in the story, the world of the rich and famous during the early 20th century is also central. A young Greene, working as a librarian at Princeton, was introduced to J.P. Morgan by his nephew, a friend of Miss Greene. The introduction was fueled by the younger Morgan’s knowledge of Greene’s intelligence, passion for knowledge and work ethic. These qualities were so evident to the venerable J.P. Morgan, that he almost immediately entrusted her with acquiring some of the world’s most valued art and literary antiquities for his personal library. A relationship that began a lifetime career for Greene and resulted in the respected Morgan Library and Museum of today.
Bennett and Murray have done a credible job of turning Greene’s story into a real-life drama. Never a shushing bespectacled matron dusting shelves, Greene was known for her clever negotiation savvy and vibrant style. The many rumors about her non-library life are teased out to reveal how the mores of the time were navigated by this consequential woman of history. This portrayal of the diminutive (in stature only) Greene and her ability to navigate a purely (white) man’s world with her wit, tenacity and intelligence is unforgettable.
Recommended for those who crave learning about the courageous women of the past who were fearless in pursuit of their dreams.

This is the little known story of Bella da Costa Green and her life as personal librarian to J.P. Morgan. The story provides a fascinating look at the process of building and collecting a library of rare books, manuscripts and art. But, it is also the story of a beautiful, intelligent and witty black woman, living as white, pursuing a career in the affluent New York society of the gilded age.

Bella had to go to extraordinary lengths to protect her family, her secrets and Morgan's legacy while living as authentic a life as possible.

I loved this book and the manner in which the authors provides a glimpse into the life and times of both celebrities and common people of the day.

Reading this book against the backdrop of violence and racism expressed during the summer of 2020 made Bella's life and efforts even more compelling.

I would certainly recommend this book to a wide-range of readers, especially those who love historical fiction, art and above all books.

THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN
By Marie Benedict &
Victoria Christopher Murray
This book is professionally written by the combination of authors, one cannot tell the difference where one takes over a particular scene. At the end of the book the authors have notes which gives the reader a hint as to who wrote what. They have chosen to write this book in the first person, thus influencing the readers closeness to the protagonist.
The personal librarian is Belle da Costa Green, and she begins working for J. Pierpont Morgan in 1905 through the recommendation of his well-respected nephew Junius Morgan. Ms. Green had worked at Princeton University as a librarian for 5 years giving her the opportunity of meeting Junius.
Green has a secret; however, she must guard the rest of her life. She is a black woman living the life of a white person. Green’s mother Genevieve Fleet Green formerly Genevieve Greener divorced Richard Greener, the first black man to graduated from Harvard University and raised her light skin family as white, while dropping the “r” from their names. She moved the family from Washington D.C. to New York City in a rundown small apartment close to Columbia University where her son Russell studied. Bella had in addition to the brother, two sisters who were schoolteachers. Genevieve ruled the family with an iron fist teaching the children how to guard their secret life as a white family.
Belle leads a fantastic life developing a close relationship with J. P. Morgan as she buried her black life and lived and worked as an unmarried white woman the rest of her long life, while financially supporting her immediate family. She had the respect of many outfoxed art dealers not only in North America, but Europe as well. Belle was intelligent, beautiful, and had an extraordinarily effervescent personality known for her sharp quips. She turns Morgan’s renowned personal library into a library for the public after his death. A lifetime dream for Green.
This is a fascinating read following Belle’s career as she develops the J. P. Morgan library. She has many lovers and many suspects she and Morgan were lovers. Ms. Green always answered these inquiries with the quip “We tried”, which leaves the gossips still wondering.

Carolyn Leaman

Interesting Behind the Scenes of the Rich and Their Art

This was an interesting read on many levels. The novel depicts the story of Belle "Dacosta" Greene, the talented librarian of J P Morgan's vast art and manuscripts collection and her entrance into high society under a false persona given to her by her mother.

The authors intertwine issues of race, professional drive, and competition of the rich in acquiring valued, expensive pieces of antiquities into their personal collections. Belle is an intelligent, strong woman who navigates this world and the relationships it brings though her personal story is kept a mystery. An excellent read and education into the world J P Morgan and Belle.

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is an engaging and fascinating historical fiction novel about J.P. Morgan's librarian, Belle da Costa Greene. At the turn of the century, American Financier Morgan hired Greene to be his librarian and help build up and curate his manuscripts and art library. Over time, he trusted Greene to run the library, make decisions about purchases, go to auctions, and more. Greene's career was a remarkable feat for a woman of that time; however, Greene had another secret that made it even more impressive. During this time, America was segregated, and people of color had very few rights. Greene had formerly been Belle Marion Greener, daughter of a black civil rights activist. Her mother took her and her siblings to New York, where they changed their names and were able to pass as white. Greene continually had to balance and moderate her life to ensure that nobody ever found out that she was of African-American descent. The book imagines what this struggle must have been like for Greene and depicts her rise in socialite society and her relationship with Morgan and their beloved library.
I was thoroughly enchanted with this book and its history. I also appreciate that when Benedict had the idea to write this story, she acknowledged that she, as a white woman, should not write it alone and should work with someone from the black community who would have a better understanding of what Greene would have gone through. Murray's grandparents were also in a situation where they would sometimes have to pass as white. Teaming up helped bring a stronger sense of understanding and empathy to the writing.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a story based on a strong, witty, passionate woman and anyone interested in this period!

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray will be published on June 1, 2021.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this eARC.

I only knew that JP Morgan was wealthy. This story of his personal librarian is very engrossing. I knew nothing about manuscripts or books he acquired. She has a story of her own which was never brought to light during her lifetime. I enjoyed the story but was disappointed when the authors at the end of the book relate all the inconsistencies and liberties they took.

THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN

Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
Berkeley, an Imprint of Penguin Random House. 2021

It takes very courageous writers of deep experience to take on Belle da Costa Greene, a vibrantly authentic woman. Choosing a first person post of view and placing it in a historical context in the present tense, while creating a fictional text is certainly ambitious. The focus of the book, indeed the center of the book is a woman who deserves to be remembered and celebrated.She is memorialized in the world of rare treasures in a fascinating biography by Heidi Ardizzone, AN ILLUMINATED LIFE: Belle daCosta Greene’s Journey from Prejudice to Privilege. Here, in THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN imagination enlarges historical fact. It is helpful that each chapter has a date as a chapter head and flashbacks between Washington DC and New York City. These dates are important anchors.

This is a layered book of secrets hidden and uncovered, quests and an enchanting main character, Belle..
Belle da Costa Green lived her professional life as the professional emissary of J. P Morgan, one of the immensity rich barons who helped to gild the Gilded Age. She remained the representative negotiator for the J.P Morgan Library into mid century. The characters with whom Belle mingles have volumes written about them-Vanderbilt, Elsie de Wolfe, Lillian Russell, Oscar Wilde, Steichen, Stieglitz, Bernard Berenson and of course the collector himself, J.P. Morgan.(E.L. Doctorow’s RAGTIME, covers the same period. I sure did miss Coalhouse Walker Jr., but he was fiction. Remember how he took on J.P. Morgan who wasn’t) The intricacies of acquisition and collection are detailed-If you want one (thing), you want another one. The obsession of collecting , sometimes called “rationalized greed”, is detailed. The desire for knowledge, like the thirst for more-more riches-more more, increases with the acquisition. Nothing but the prize-the goal is the thing.

Richard T. Greener(1844-1922) was Belle’s father. Genevieve was her mother. They were very real. Each needs a story of his/her own.
There is such an enormous cast of characters that the use appositives can hardly be avoided, though maybe some should have been. For example, “the French sculptor, Auguste Rodin” or “the French artist, Henri Matisse” The reader has to get over the authors’ needs to tell you more than your want to know. The danger of first person narratives is veracity. Has there ever been a woman who refers to “my rebellious curly hair?” Or “leafy Gothic landscape” or “crenellated tower.?” Maybe an editor would have caught small inconsistencies the impede the thrust of the story- For example on the first page of the first chapter “my voluminous skirts lifted” and on the second page,”my somber navy skirt” and then on the third page we have “Gertrude’s skirts rustle.” (I have been a woman for many years and dressed myself for most of them. I cannot believe that there has ever been a time when a woman, working or not, spent so much time listening to skirts.)

What a time! What a book! What a woman! Marie Benedict is the author of more than six books of historical fiction, all based on real women. With co-author, Victoria Christopher Murray a best selling writer herself, we have been introduced to a such a time of extravagance, conspicuous consumption and moral ambiguity, poisonous prejudice.

Belle da Costa Greene is a librarian at Princeton University when she is approached by a patron of the university recommending she should interview for the newly created position of personal librarian to J P Morgan. Morgan is creating the Pierpont Morgan Library and is seeking someone to organize and manage his collection. Belle is anxious to succeed in this endeavor despite knowing that she has a secret Morgan can never discover—she is a black woman passing as white.

I loved the descriptions of Belle joining the social set, investigating and acquiring items for the library collection, and struggling to make sure her secret remained safe. Additionally there is an undercurrent of sexual attraction between Belle and Morgan who is 40 years her senior.

This is a fascinating look at the Gilded Age, a peek into the affluent society of New York City, the search for the highly valued collectibles that will establish the preeminence of the Pierpont Morgan Library, and what it means to live an authentic life.

Based on the life of Belle da Costa Greene, this book hit on all the notes for me. I loved Belle for her moxie and intelligence. The information about rare books, precious art, auctions, and world travels was interesting. The Personal Librarian was a great escape and read perfectly for that purpose.

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