Review | The Personal Librarian

Title: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray

Date Published: June 29th, 2021

Dates Read: August 21-28, 2021

Current Goodreads Rating: 4.11/5

Did you know that J.P. Morgan had a personal librarian and, thanks to her, his library (first known as the Pierpont Morgan Library; now known as the Morgan Library & Museum) collected millions of dollars worth of priceless rare books, paintings, and other artwork? Did you know that Belle de Costa Greene was actually originally named Belle Marion Greener and was an African American woman who used her lighter skin to pass as a white woman? I have to be honest with you, I didn't know either of those things and I honestly didn't realize it when I originally requested the book from my local librarian. All I knew was that this book was highly recommended and I have to agree with that assessment.

Ok, so what happens? Belle de Costa Greene is well known for her role in making the Morgan Library a New York institution. For years she artfully traversed through an otherwise male dominated field, purchasing priceless artifacts from under the nose of prominent men who often underestimated the female sex. However, in this retelling of Greene's tenure as business tycoon J.P. Morgan's personal librarian, authors Benedict and Murray cover a lesser known fact about Greene; her race.

Living through a time of turmoil within the country, Greene was originally born as Belle Marion Greener and lived in a prominently African American neighborhood in Washington D.C. Now living with her family in New York, Greene continues to pass as a white woman and plays the dangerous game of intellect, style, and wit to protect her secret and her family.

Ok, so what did I think? I think my education was severely lacking. How am I only now at 27 finding out about a woman like Belle de Costa Greene? For one thing Greene was a badass woman who took the world by storm in a usually male dominated field seemingly without any issue. She shattered that glass ceiling like she was Superwoman leaping high into the air and had men either pining to be with her or have a strong woman like her on their team. Also, to do that while hiding her true identity as a woman of color is virtually unheard of especially in the early 1900s.

This book really takes a look at Greene's rise as J.P. Morgan's librarian and personal assistant and dives deep into the relationships she forms. I did find it a little gross that Benedict and Murray hinted at some form of physical attraction between Greene and Morgan, but luckily nothing ever came of their weird little moments. Regardless of whatever feelings the two had for each other, it was clear that Greene made herself indispensable to the Morgan family even after J.P. Morgan had died. We're already aware that my (and probably your) education was lacking when it came to prominent women in the early 20th century, but Greene seemed to be in a league of her own when it came to success. Sure, there were women like Alva Vanderbilt (who I read about in Therese Anne Fowler's A Well-Behaved Woman) who did her own great things with her own power like founding the Met and becoming an important member of the Suffrage movement, but where Vanderbilt broke away from her already rich and famous in-laws to make a name of her own, Greene had to do all of that all on her own.

Quick tangent for a moment - My comparison between Greene and Vanderbilt may sound like I'm trying to pit the women against each other and perhaps I accidentally did. Please be aware that that was not what I was trying to do. Both women accomplished much in their lives and their accomplishments should not be pitted against each other. In any instance in history I think it is important to examine how women were successful and able to gain status using the wide variety of resources available to them. Successful women can be successful without the downfall of other women.

While the historical context of this book alone was really fascinating and inspired me to do a little bit of my own research on Greene, I also thought the relationship between the two authors was an incredibly special partnership. Marie Benedict started her writing career because she wanted to unearth the hidden historical stories of women (which, can we just take a second to think about how this woman has made a career out of telling the forgotten stories of important women? WILD.) Not only has Benedict covered Greene's story, but the stories of Mitza Maric, Hedy Keisler (also known as Hedy Lamarr), Clara Kelly, Agatha Christie, and Clementine Churchill to name a few - all of which are now in my 'To Read' bookshelf on Goodreads. However, as a white woman Benedict realized that she needed more input to properly tell the story of a black woman passing as white. To do that she formed a partnership with Victoria Christopher Murray, an author who had received many awards including the Phyllis Wheatley Trailblazer Award for being a pioneer in African American Fiction, to better capture the voice and experience of a black woman.

One of my favorite parts of the book wasn't even part of the novel itself. In fact, it was actually in the Author's notes at the very end of the novel where both Benedict and Murray thanked those who had helped them create this novel as well as discuss the experience of writing such a story in the middle of a pandemic as well as a political uprising. Both authors discuss how they came together to grieve, learn, and listen when riots broke out across the country due to the unjust murder of George Floyd and how the modern experiences of racism and prejudice helped shape their writing of 20th century prejudices. I've always been a fan of reading author's notes at the ends of novels, but this one just added some extra special context that I really enjoyed learning about.

I've said before that I'm not great at picking up stories of people of color. I'm not actively avoiding these stories or refuse to listen to the voices of others, but it is something that I realize is a fault of mine and I'm actively trying to change. If you're like me and want to be better at reading and listening to diverse voices I highly recommend The Personal Librarian and I am open to any suggestions of other diverse stories and authors to learn from.

Long Story Short:

• Once again the American Education system has failed me

• Learn more about Bella de Costa Greene on The Morgan Library & Museum website

• Let's listen to more diverse voices!

My Rating: 4/5