Chatting Books Online Year 2, Day 125. Today’s featured book is:The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Cristopher Murray.
Marie Benedict's writes historical fiction based on the lives of important women in history to help share their stories even if in a somewhat fictionalized way. You may have read some of her other books such as Carnefie's Maid, The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, and The Other Einstein, to name a few.
In this book we meet Belle de Costa Green, the savvy, sophisticated, witty , intelligent woman who served as personal librarian to J P Morgan and was responsible for the building of the collection at the Pierpont Morgan Library. We also learn that Ms. Green had a secret that she protected at all costs and that enabled her to live this life. Ms. Greene was actually born Marion Greener , the daughter of the first african american graduate of Harvard University . During reconstruction there was something of a peaceful period where it looked like people of color would immediately be treated equally and this was when Mr. Greener attended Harvard and became a college professor but all too soon the world turned cruel and he was embroiled in the fight for equal rights. In an effort to protect their family, who were of lighter skin, Marion became Belle and invented a Portguagse heritage to "pass" thus enabling her to live and thrive among the well-to -do of New York in the early 1900’s - but at what cost.
To write this book Ms. Benedict enlisted a co-writer because she feared as a white woman she could not embody or understand the powerful emotions that must have consumed a woman of color at this time , knowing if her secret ever got out the results could be catastrophic to herself and her family, if not actually deadly .
I must admit, I knew nothing of Ms. Greene and not much about the library before reading this book but like all good works of historical fiction this one has captured me and I want to learn more. . So much so I have added it to my bucket list for a future visit to New York. From what I have read in this book and the photos available in the online collection it seems extraordinary.
This hardcover novel currently sells for $ 27.00 a copy.
To purchase a copy come see us at the shop during business hours, order through our website , or you can call or message me to have a copy shipped to you.
