In Honor of Women’s History Month 2025
Belle da Costa Greene, courtesy of J. P. Morgan Exhibitions
In the lush world of literature and the arts, librarian Ms. Belle da Costa Greene rises along with the fortunes of New York financier and investment banker, Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan with his renowned library of precious art and rare manuscripts in the early 1900s. Such is the setting of the novel, Personal Librarian, a work of historical fiction (2021).
“My grandmother was Portuguese,” young Belle da Costa Greene is quick to insist when quizzed about her heritage. The daughter of Richard Greener, the first black graduate of Harvard and an advocate for equality, Belle carefully cultivates a niche for herself as a white woman in New York society because of her fair complexion, business acumen, wit, and fashion sense. Careful to omit her colored roots in conversation, Belle would agree with a statement near the end of the book, “How black people must have two sets of eyes all time, two fields of vision that are totally incongruent because they have to be mindful of how they see themselves, . . . most likely completely the opposite of how the world see them. So, it’s like walking this balancing act.”
I sense that readers of the meticulously researched Personal Librarian will feel the tension between the privilege and prejudice Belle experienced navigating her unique world, a world of secrets and strategies to conceal them. The co-authors, Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, one black and one white, expertly depict the effect of race and gender on Belle da Costa Greene’s ability to achieve her dreams and the extraordinary lengths she must go to protect her family and her own legacy. The authors also reveal a tale of reckless, romantic love along with exposing the foibles of New York’s upper class. A novel of historical and literary significance.
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Sounds like a fascinating book. Thanks for the great review.
Darlene, thanks for the comment.
I intended to close comments on this post, but thanks for sneaking in! 😀
Thank you for the review. This sounds like a fascinating and thought-provoking book.
As you can see from my reply to Darlene, I intended to turn off comments but failed. Ha!
You would definitely appreciate this novel. 😀
Would love to read this! To have to live a double life because of prejudice must be so difficult!
I can’t comprehend it.
Now I’m wondering if you experienced some kind of prejudice living in Paraguay and also in the Congo. It would be a different sort of bias, I think.
Thanks, Elfrieda! 😀
Oh yes! We were “the other”! In Congo Our children got touched a lot and called names. If we stopped our car for some reason, we soon couldn’t look out the windows as they were completely covered by staring faces pressed against them! Our daughter loved playing soccer with the boys and they let her, whereas no Congolese girls played soccer. We were the other, the privileged other, kind of like the royals. I could write a book!
Thanks for adding this; I suspected you experienced discrimination of some sort. :-/
Oh yes! In Congo our children got touched a lot and called names. If we parked our car we soon couldn’t see out the windows because of faces staring in at us! Our oldest daughter loved playing soccer with the boys and they allowed it, even though no Congolese girls did! We were the privileged other, kind of like royalty. They would yell “white ones, give us the money!”
Elfrieda: Maybe a blog post at some point??
I was surprised to see a Friday post from you, Marian. 😊 An excellent review! I read and enjoyed this book, too.
Yes, I know, I’m a Wednesdays only blogger.
I do review lots of books on Goodreads but seldom post them here. It’s Women’s History Month, so I made an exception. 😀
Marianne, what a delightful read for women’s history month – or any month, for that matter. Thanks for stopping by Story Chat and supporting Robbie and Michael. It was lovely to see you. 🙂 xxx
Marsha, thanks for commenting here.
I always Like to support writers far and wide. 😀
You’ve made a name for yourself in the blogging community for doing just that.
Thanks for the compliment, Marsha!
Well deserved! 🙂 xxx
Marian — Personal Librarian sounds like a terrific read. Thank you for the recommendation. I just added it to my TBR list.
Laurie, As you can tell, the writing is first rate, as is the story line. 😀
Looks an incredible story and the story reminds me of a movie I saw called ‘Passing’, about a prominent black women who hides her heritage because her skin is so light, she ‘passes’ herself off as a white women. <3
These brave women are admirable, but I feel a sense of indignation that they have to conceal their true identities in the first place, Debby! 😀
Yes, that’s a whole ‘nother story! 🙂
I’m adding this to my list of books to be read. It sounds intriguing and informative. Thanks for the review.
You’re welcome, Ally. It’s worth your time. 😀