2023~43. The Personal Librarian

Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray. 2021.

In recent years, a number of these fictionalized stories based on real historical figures have come out and I have to say that I am becoming a fan of this genre of storytelling.  I initially struggled with the concept of stealing the bones of someone's public life to then fill in the blanks to make a story that isn't necessarily accurate.  I find it particularly aggravating when this is done in a way that gives them an inner thought process that is too modern and obviously inconsistent with how they would have conceptualized the world at that that time, often in an attempt to make the person more politically correct or modern in their thinking than they probably were. That said, a few of these books have found their way into my heart and this is one of them.  

This fictionalized account of Belle da Costa Greene's life as the personal secretary and librarian for J.P. Morgan was fascinating.  Belle grows up in a Black family, but her lighter skinned mother decides to move the children north and helped Belle pass as white.  Belle's vast knowledge of art and literature ultimately lands her a job for Morgan in which she is his trusted companion in developing his pet library project.  She travels the world and becomes a powerful figure in the book world.  I loved following her story and I particularly loved that it was truly a professional relationship in which they were close colleagues, but never lovers. Given the time period, the difference in their power and age, and the amount of time they spent together over a project both were passionate about, this is a ray of light in this respect.  Their relationship, primarily imagined based on the little information available about her, is refreshing.  The book is well written, fun to read, and overall just a solid narrative.

​Recommend.

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