The Personal Librarian - Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray

I don't remember how I heard of this book, but it made it onto my Goodreads list and eventually onto my holds list at the library. I'm so glad it did! This is a historical fiction based on the life of Belle da Costa Greene and her life as the personal librarian to J.P. Morgan.

Belle da Costa Greene is a black woman living in New York in the early 1900's. Black people did not have many opportunities in America and Belle's mother did everything she could to give her children opportunities for a good life, even when it meant leaving her husband over it. Belle and her family were light-skinned so they could pass for white. Belle's mother moved them to a good neighbourhood and encouraged the children to act white. This allowed Belle to get a good education and a career. Working at a library at Princeton, she met Junius Morgan, who introduced her to his uncle, J.P. Morgan. Belle was hired as J.P. Morgan's personal librarian in 1905. She took his wonderful collection of books and added priceless pieces to it to make his collection one of the most envied in the world.

Belle went to auctions and worked alongside mostly men in the industry. She had a career that was impressive for not only a black person, but also for a woman. Often, the only woman at the table, she held her own and won the respect of most others in the industry.

Belle found acting as a white woman to be a struggle. She had to maintain an impeccable presence so no one would suspect her. It caused quite a toll on her and she longed to be her true self. After meeting her estranged father, a renowned black activist, she held her course and kept going, hiding her true self for most of her life.

This was a wonderful book. I had never heard of Belle da Costa Greene and after reading the book, did some additional reading online to learn more. There are many more books out there about her amazing life. This book is well worth the read.