Belle De La Costa Greene was the Personal Librarian for J.P. Morgan. At a time when career women were rare, she held a job most people could only dream about. She was responsible for purchasing rare manuscripts and books for the Pierpont Morgan Library. Traveling around the world, she used the power of J.P. Morgan's money to acquire rare and one of a kind items that would enhance the standing of her library.
The character of Belle De La Costa Greene is based upon the real person, who worked for the Pierpont Morgan Library until 1948 - for a total of 43 years. What many people do not know about Belle is that she was born Belle Greener. Both of her parents were of mixed race, and Belle was light skinned and passed as white throughout her career.
While the story in the book is Historic Fiction, the authors did extensive work to make certain that they matched the historic details of her life as closely as possible. The book itself is a fascinating look at race relations in the early 20th century, as well as the inner workings of a private library and the work that goes into acquiring new materials for a collection of historic books. Remember that Belle was a groundbreaker. A career woman in the early 20th century was a rarity. This book delves into the decisions that she had to make on a personal and professional basis.
I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for something to brighten these cold winter days!
Pierpont Morgan Library has become the Morgan Library. You can find their webpage here:
The NPR News Story about this book can be found here:
Author Marie Benedict Website: https://www.authormariebenedict.com/the-personal-librarian.html
Author Victoria Christopher Murray Website: https://victoriachristophermurray.com/
AACPL Challenge #42- Read a book by 2 authors.
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