An impressive work of historical fiction that describes life during an interesting time in history. A light-skinned black woman named Marion Greener changes her identity to Belle de Costa in order to become the personal librarian of J.P. Morgan. Benedict does an extraordinary job of bringing Belle to life and uses language and behavior that seem probable for her character. This is a well-researched work of fiction that tries to be true to the facts around the real-life individuals. It is a life story that shows a period of history in which many people (Jewish, black) were not treated as equal. The fact that Belle does a great job and excels as librarian is still no protection if her race were exposed. It's sad to picture and yet is the truth about racism and attitudes that were prevalent in that time. Belle de Costa Green is a memorable woman who overcame the odds to accomplish a great deal during her life. This novel is very interesting and informative, too.

Thoroughly enjoyed this somewhat embellished fictional take on the life of Bella De Costa Greene. Her story was interesting and compelling and this novel lead me to wanting to know more and seeking out her biography as a next read. Well written and time was well spent reading it.

I was sucked in from the first chapter. Belle's story of hiding in plain sight was absolutely fascinating, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC.

Y’all! THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN is phenomenal! If you like Historical Fiction, books about books, and stories about powerful women, look no further.

Belle da Costa Greene is a woman that we should have all learned about in our history classes. She was a Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white in order to protect her family and her legacy as the personal librarian of J.P. Morgan.

A career she began in her mid-twenties, after being a research librarian at Princeton, we have her to thank for the Pierpont Morgan Library being made a public institution. She devoted her life to the curation of its magnificent collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork. She was a shrewd negotiator and well-respected in a field dominated by her male counterparts.

She sacrificed finding true love and experiencing motherhood in order to maintain her position. Instead becoming one of the most respected and revered women in the art and book world. She also became a fixture in New York society, regularly socializing with the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers.

I also felt that she sacrificed true independence for she had to support her entire family, and never marrying, felt forced to live with them throughout her life. Albeit she was finally able to purchase two adjoining apartments so she could have a modicum of independence.

Her relationship with J.P. Morgan was almost one of father and daughter. She attended family functions and he even provided for her in his will. While most accounts of him are focused on his business acumen it was refreshing to read about this side of him. His daughter Anne was as close to a rival of Belle’s as there was, although it was one sided, and spewed by Anne’s jealousy.

It is a tragedy that Belle was forced to live her life passing as white, constantly fearing that one would discover her secret, during such a racist time in our history.

I give THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

As a librarian, I knew I would enjoy this story! I would definitely recommend it for anyone who likes historical fiction. I didn't know anything about Belle da Costa Greene before reading it, and felt like I learned a lot. I also found the race aspect, and a black woman "passing" as white, to be an interesting and enlightening concept to read about (would also recommend The Vanishing Half for fiction on that topic). Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray portrayed Belle as a strong and bold woman and I was eager to keep turning the pages. I appreciated that Benefit found a black co-author to add more authenticity and to acknowledge that she as a white woman may not be able to fully tell Belle's story on her own.

Bringing recognition to an amazing historical figure.


Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray share the amazing life of Belle da Costa Greene in The Personal Librarian. Born Belle Greener, a black American in D.C. in the late 1800s, her mother changed their name to Greene and settled her and her siblings in NYC as a white family, after her father, the first black graduate from Harvard and international renowned attorney, left them. Ms. Greene’s journey from librarian to curator of one of the preeminent libraries of historically significant works, with the backing of J.P. Morgan, and her courage to not only move freely in a white, male dominated world but her intelligence and tenacity to excel in it, is an interesting and inspirational tale.


While the life of Belle da Costa Greene is fascinating, Benedict and Murray’s fictional storytelling of her life in The Personal Librarian came up short for me in a number of areas. While the vocabulary and style of speaking of characters should fit with the times and station of those people, the narration of a non-academic book, marketed to the masses, should use vocabulary that the majority of people can understand easily. There are many uses of formal and obscure words that are anything but colloquial. I also struggled with seeing the direction of their story. I realize that this was a fictional interpretation of a real person’s life and work however, I felt like I was on a bit of an aimless walk through the woods; the scenery was interesting, with a few unexpected sights, but no real destination. I also struggled to become attached to Benedict and Murray’s Belle. While I have great admiration for all Ms. Greene accomplished, especially given her situation, I felt like they didn’t balance out her perfection and success enough.


The story of Belle da Costa Greene in The Personal Librarian is an inspiring saga that highlights a truly amazing woman. The authors do an amazing job transporting their readers to the Gilded Age with a historically accurate and visually rich fictional telling of a real trailblazer for not only women but African Americans. Benedict and Murray’s work introduces new generations to someone whose true story was hidden in life behind an identity, cultivated to navigate a very different time and mindset, but who deserves to be more fully understood and remembered.

This was a heartfelt and beautifully told tale of a fascinating woman, the personal librarian of J. P. Morgan, Belle da Costa Greene. Belle was incredibly intelligent and used everything in her power to get what she wanted brilliantly. The story deals extensively with the issue of race and the authors handle it deftly while raising an abundance of questions which will really cause the reader to think. This will be a favorite of book clubs.

So I'm a librarian, so I obviously had to get this book immediately.

I've never heard of Belle de Costa Greene, and I am high level obsessed by this (fictionalized) account of her career and life - what a story this was. I think that books like this shine so much light on what it was to be a woman, and a Black woman, albeit one who had to pass as white to become as successful as she was. I always struggle a bit with fictionalized accounts of real people, but I highly recommend anyone read this book because of the incredibly powerful messages around skin color and racism.

Full honestly this was not a book that I chewed through - it took me months to finish it, because as much as I was into the concept I had a bit of trouble getting captivated by the book itself - about halfway through it picked up, but then dragged again a little at the end.

This is very much worth the read - it's based off a real person, includes amazing stories, but it still fell a little short to me - still absolutely worth grabbing though,

An honest review for an ARC from NetGalley

WHY DID I LISTEN TO THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN BY MARIE BENEDICT AND VICTORIA CHRISTOPHER MURRAY?
When it comes to audiobooks, one of my preferred genres is historical fiction. And so, The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray caught my eye. When I saw the audiobook was narrated by Robin Miles, I just had to give it a listen. Granted, it has been a while since I have listening to a book narrated by Miles, but I had such a good impression and opinion with regards to her narration. Also? The summary of The Personal Librarian sounded really interesting.

WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?
The Personal Librarian follows the real life story of Belle da Costa Greene. Greene is hired in her twenties to be a personal librarian to THE J.P. Morgan. She is tasked with finding different manuscripts and building Morgan’s collection. As it turns out, Belle is incredibly competent and good at her job. She takes society by storm and is the toast of the intelligentsia. And so, this book explores Belle’s life and meteoric rise – including a love affair that she has with a renowned critic. However, it turns out that Belle is hiding a pretty big secret. She was actually born Belle Marion Greener and is the daughter of the first Black graduate of Harvard.

That’s right, Belle is white passing and so she decides to live as a white person and build her career on the perception that she has a Portuguese background. She is very protective of her secret. If it got out, it could send Belle’s life tumbling down around her.

WHAT DID I THINK OF THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN?
I felt like this was a really thoughtful story. After listening to the audiobook, I actually ended up reading the wikipedia entry on Belle. This book is so interesting. The character development of Belle is very well done. I also enjoyed learning more about JP Morgan as well. Plus, there is the whole exploration of identity and privilege and gender and race. I can’t say if the representation is good or not — that’s not something I am qualified to talk about. I can say that this book made me think and the writing is so compelling.

HOW’S THE NARRATION?
As mentioned above, the audiobook of The Personal Librarian is narrated by Robin Miles. She is quite excellent. The audiobook is 12 hours and 23 minutes long, but flies by. I was really invested in this audiobook. I think you should pick this up if you like historical fiction about real people who you might not know a whole lot about.

Maria Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray were featured authors on FreshFiction.com's blog, through a 20 questions feature, which can be seen here: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=11362

**I received an advanced reader copy of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Prior to this novel, I had not heard of Belle de Costa Greene, and I was mesmerized by her story by the end of this fictionalized account of her career. Greene sacrificed so much in order to accomplish so much and to be known as the personal librarian of JP Morgan. I was captivated by her story for most of the book, though admittedly the narrative did drag a bit towards the end of the novel. Benedict and Murray blended Greene's struggles as a woman passing with the 20th century mores and her constant fears of exposure. But, they also captured her brilliance so well - her intelligence, her ability to entertain and influence the upper echelons of society and to "wow" the art dealers and collectors of the world. Like any good historical fiction, this book left me wanting to know more about Greene and her legacy. Such a remarkable woman! 3.5 out of 5 stars for this book.

I have been picking this up on and off since June. I had a hard time getting caught up in Belle’s story. When I reached around 60% in though, I finally started to turn pages at a faster rate. This was a beautifully written book, with so much rich history of novels and collections, but I just struggled.

I had a love/hate relationship with Belle having to hide her background as a light-skinned black woman. I loved that she was really sticking it to these horrible white people who would have ostracized her or worse had they known, but I hated that she had to hide it in the first place in order to become as successful as she was. I was also angered by how much her family depended on her to financially support them. She was a phenomenal woman.

Side note: I get that J.P. Morgan was a rich, influential, and very distinguished man…but I could not for the life of me understand why young women would have affairs with him. He was in his 60’s. Just no. The numerous affairs that took place bothered me.

Even though it took me a while to finish this book, I would recommend it to any historical fiction lovers. I always enjoy reading stories surrounding remarkable people who really existed.

Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

An outstanding fictionalized story of a real-life fascinating woman. Belle Marion Greener grew up in a loving black family in Washington, D.C. until her parents separated. Her father, a champion for improving race relations, took a government job overseas. Her mother, fiercely determined to find a better life for her children, moved them to New York and identified the light-skinned family as white. Belle was renamed Belle da Costa Greene, a name she used the rest of her life. Employing her intelligence, charm, and ingenuity, Belle becomes the personal librarian to the very wealthy financier J. P. Morgan. Over the years she builds the Pierpont Morgan Library while concealing her roots.
The authors present the general facts of Belle’s life while adding fictionalized emotions and perspectives. The book is written in first person so the reader can see and feel how Belle evolved from a shy young girl into a knowledgeable, confident woman that hobnobbed with the crème of New York society during the Gilded Age. There are many powerful messages in this story; foremost being our view of skin color and racism. During the past year many people have made a conscience effort to understand racism in the United States by reading such books as White Supremacy and How to Be an Anti-Racist. The Personal Librarian offers readers another viewpoint on this difficult issue through the eyes of a black woman passing for white. It is great to see the book on several summer reading lists. I cannot recommend it enough.

I am not one that typically gravitates towards historical fiction, but after reading the synopsis I knew I had to read this one, and honestly I loved it so much that it has influenced me to start diving more into this genre. I thought that the premise was so interesting and I was thoroughly invested in Belle who was JP Morgans personal librarian. I thought the fact that she had to hide her true identity simultaneously pulled at my heart strings while also proving the strength that a lot of people similar to her had to endure just because fellow citizens weren't able to accept the beauty in our differences. I usually am also a bit iffy when it comes to co-authors, but I truly felt as though together they truly did the story justice and added substance of equal parts. I need to take a moment to just emphasize how brilliant the writing was, it truly was transportive and made the me feel like I went back and time, thus making the story feel that much more real. I loved Belle, I think as a character she had so many layers to her and the entire time I was reading the story I just wanted to know more about her, and truly was rooting for her. I do however wish there was a bit more of a continuation of the story once the secret was revealed, but I also think that still without this continuation it was amazing. This is a book that I think could truly influence lesson plans in school. I think it is a great balance between history and teachable moments, while also holding the readers interest and still being entertaining. I thought that the notes towards the end of the book were also so interesting and truly added to the story. There is so much more I could say about this story, but I just truly think this is a story that will be around for a long time, and truly deserves to be.

Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray created a real gem with this novel. It follows the journey of Belle de Costa Greene from a librarian at Princeton to the role of personal librarian of J.P. Morgan. All while trying to keep her true background a secret. I knew very little about the origins of the J.P. Morgan Library and it was interesting to find out how it came to be and what followed. The authors made Belle come to life. Highly recommended!

The Personal Librarian is truly a magnificent piece of historical fiction! It brings to light the story of Belle de Costa Greene, personal librarian to J.P. Morgan. Belle was born Marion Greener, but her mother made a decision for their family to live as white and take on new identities, attributing their heritage to a Portuguese grandmother. Belle's father was the first black graduate of Harvard and could not concede to this plan so he left. Belle secured the position as personal librarian to J.P. Morgan and learned to navigate that male dominated world, not only as a woman, but as a woman of color all the while passing as a white person due to the racism prevalent at the time. Belle amassed an amazing collection of books and art, traveling all over the world and reinventing the book/art buying process, but she had the added pressure of keeping her secret safe.

This novel impressed me on so many levels. I think having the book co-authored by both a white woman and a black woman helped to give an authentic voice to Belle de Costa Greene's situation and her emotions. Reading about her career and all that she accomplished during her lifetime was inspiring and captivating at the same time. I am so grateful that the authors took the time to unearth her story and give it a voice in today's world. It was neat reading in the author notes about how the authors developed such a close bond writing this book together and that it opened up honest discussions about race between them both. I believe that this book has the power to bring people together and is an important read for all of us.

Good Morning America selected The Personal Librarian as their Book of the Month pick for July. I really enjoyed the interview Deborah Roberts did with the authors. The interview takes place at the Morgan Library and if my review hasn't peaked your interest yet, check it out:
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/video/authors-personal-librarian-talk-78835572?fbclid=IwAR1YBUm0d_ecLkzrY0yoFn-2wy6EhwzDyXecUdfFi-2_1ZMpVT16_B2cD4c

The Personal Librarian was most definitely a five star read for me and I highly recommend reading it I received this book courtesy of the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

READ IF YOU’RE IN THE MOOD FOR…
- historical fiction inspired by a real person
- a story about a black woman passing as white in the upper echelons of New York society
- libraries, rare books, art and museums

MY TAKE: I so wanted to love this book. I typically enjoy based-in-fact historical fiction, as well as stories about strong, bold, intelligent woman — and librarians!

But, overall, it fell a bit flat for me. The chapters, which spanned two decades, were more like vignettes than a cohesive narrative. I also didn’t like Belle as a character — which is utterly ridiculous because the real-life Belle was a remarkable and fascinating woman. I was also bored for much of the book; perhaps the plot suffered because the authors tried to stick close to known facts.

I did like the descriptions of the Pierpont Morgan Library, and I Googled so many books, works of art, and people while reading, so I definitely learned something. However, I suspect I would have gotten more enjoyment out of a biography about Belle da Costa Greene than this fictionalized account.

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is a historical fiction story about Belle da Costa Greene. Belle was the librarian and art curator hired by American Financier J. P. Morgan to develop and expand his collection of rare books, paintings, and artifacts. In the early 1900s, this was truly remarkable that J.P Morgan would hire a young woman to curate this collection. Though exceptionally knowledgeable in her position, Belle hid a secret from the world. She was a light-skinned black woman who could pass as white. The fascinating story about Belle’s struggles and how she succeeded in this high-profile job was fascinating. Her decades-long work can be seen today at the Morgan Library in New York City, which is open to the public.

An extraordinary real life novel of “Passing” that I’m still processing and obsessing over a week after reading. i have some quibbles about whether the authors truly captured the essence of woman they based the story on,,the one who was born Belle Greener and reinvented herself as Belle Da Costa Greene, but there’s no doubt they created a compelling narrative that stands up on its own. From what I’ve read in the biographical sources snd related histories, it’s one that seems more pristine and reverential, less reckless, less restive and slightly less compelling in her humanity than the person they .set out to study.

The Personal Librarian confirms my love of historical fiction!

This is the story of Belle de Costa Greene or by her real name Belle Marion Greener. Belle is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first black graduate of Harvard and a strong activist for equal rights. Belle’s mother takes another approach, with her fair skin and her children’s fair skin, she decides to pass them off as white. She has them go by de Costa Greene and claim a Portuguese grandmother as the reason for their skin color.

Passing as white, Belle finds herself hired by J.P. Morgan to help him establish his Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle not only helps him, she becomes almost like a partner. He sends her abroad to auctions, she attends gala events, all while presenting herself as a white woman.

An insight into race, gender and wealth in the early 1900’s in America.