My Goodreads and Amazon reviews of The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray (Rated 5) – Secrets Threaten Success. The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is the fictionalized story of the real Belle da Costa Greene, personal librarian to financier J. P. Morgan and his heirs in the first half of the 20th century. Although vastly different in background and temperament, Morgan and Belle share an encyclopedic knowledge of, and passion for, old and rare manuscripts. Belle is not only the lone woman in charge of an acclaimed library, she is a consummate bidder against rich and powerful men when it comes to acquiring them. The novel, a trove of information about the treasured documents and the rarefied social world of the era’s elite, is ultimately about how those who collect and preserve the past simultaneously seek to hide their own personal history. In Belle’s case, she is passing for white. Others must hide their religion, sexual identity, or other characteristics that, if known, would make them outcasts in the society they are desperate to remain a part of. The authors do a masterful job balancing the tension between Belle’s inner and outer worlds as she relishes her accomplishments while living in constant fear of exposure. As a historical fiction writer myself (see my Amazon author page and Goodreads author page), I admire their ability to keep readers immersed in the narrative moment while simultaneously painting a detailed backdrop of the times in which the events occur. So much in this book is “just right” – details about the rare manuscripts, characterization, pacing. And as a testament to the “colored” woman who, in reality, brought an amazing private collection into the public domain, The Personal Librarian is a worthy addition to any library.
Hiding her true identity, a woman achieves success and leaves a lasting legacy
Why writers read: “If you read good books, when you write, good books will come out of you.” – Natalie Goldberg
