Hi everyone, as attendees know at our March 2023 gathering we discussed the book The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. The novel offered a fictionalized account of the true life story of librarian Belle da Costa Greene. And there is so much to learn and say about the life of de Costa Green that I found it difficult to write an overview of her story, as relayed in the book, and keep it short.

So I have finally edited my notes a bit and typed up a reasonably short overview the book, and will now move on to typing up the notes for the May meeting – which I promise to have out before June 1st!

And speaking of June, just a reminder that our June book club gathering will be on Friday, June 16, 2023 at the library, and we will be discussing Michelle Obama’s new book The Light We Carry. You can pick up a copy of the book at the Circulation Desk at any time.

And without further ado, here is the overview of The Personal Librarian:

The March Southeast Steuben County Library Book Club of Adults was held on Friday, March 10, 2023.

Our March read was: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray

And on a neat reader’s note: the two authors, Benedict & Murray, who worked together for the first time on The Personal Librarian; greatly enjoyed working together and have collaborated on a second book The First Ladies that is coming out on June 27, 2023.

The first paragraph of the publisher’s overview describes the book as: “A novel about the extraordinary partnership between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune—an unlikely friendship that changed the world, from the New York Times bestselling authors of the Good Morning America Book Club pick The Personal Librarian.” So that too should be a good read!

And back to the March Read: The Personal Librarian.

The Personal Librarian offers a fictionalized account of the life of librarian extraordinaire Belle D. Greene that hits the high notes of the life the real Belle D. Green lived.

Today, we can’t know for certain what was said in conversations had between Belle D. Greene and the legendary financier J. P. Morgan, nor can we know for certain the details of Belle’s relationship with art historian Bernard Berenson. But we can learn the outline of Belle Da Costa Greene’s life by reading the book, The Personal Librarian.  

From the real Belle’s New York Times obituary, dated May 12, 1950, we learn that outline of important dates in her life are also used in the book, and are right on the mark. Belle was a librarian in charge of the Morgan Library, today the Pierpont Morgan Library; the library J. P. Morgan founded to house his collection of rare books and manuscripts, from 1905 – 1924. She was later promoted to Director of the Library and held that position from 1924 – 1948. Her obituary noted that she was “one of the best known librarians in this country. As a young woman, well before the First World War, she was already a somewhat fabulous figure at auction sales and had the power to spend $40,000 or more for one book – and exercised it.”

The fictionalized account of her life uses this framework of dates and dives deeper by offering details about a fact whispered by some during Greene’s lifetime, but a fact that was not public knowledge until decades after her death. Belle da Costa Greene was in fact born Belle Marion Greener the daughter of Richard Theodore Greener, the first African American graduate of Harvard (1870) and Genevieve Ida Fleet. Her father was the first African American professor at the University of South Carolina, and her mother was from a prominent African American family based in Washington D.C.  Bell’s parents had a difficult time living with the racism of the Reconstruction Era; and times became even more difficult when reconstruction was abandoned and the Jim Crow Era began. From the difficulties of these times, Belle’s father Richard and mother Genevieve came to hold opposing beliefs. Richard believed that equality and civil rights could be obtained through activism; and Genevieve came to the conclusion that racism and inequality were unlikely to ever be eliminated from American society. The couple eventually split over these ideological differences; and Genevieve took her children to New York City, cut ties with her mixed race family, changed the family name to Greene, created a false Portuguese genealogy and had the family, sans Richard, pass for white.

As a youth, Belle developed a love of learning and of rare books and manuscripts from her father. And after moving to New York, and beginning her life passing for white, she obtained a library degree and began working in the library field.

Thus the two biggest things in Belle da Costa Green’s life, can been seen a two faces one public, her fierce love of rare books and manuscripts, epitomized by her positon as the librarian in charge of the Morgan library, and one private, the importance of keeping the secret of the family’s passing and related origin at all costs.

Readers of The Personal Library get to hear the thoughts of the fictional Belle and discover, in essence, that thinking about passing and keeping the secret of her African American ancestry was like a blanket she threw over herself whenever leaving her home, a layer that she was always aware of and caution about taking care of.

Despite the challenges of passing, Belle da Costa Greene, became one of the most powerful and influential women of her day. In an era when it was almost unheard of for a woman in any field to hold a position of power, Belle did. J. P. Morgan trusted her as his personal librarian to the max and allowed her to bid on rare books and manuscripts. Belle da Costa Green worked at the Morgan Library Library from 1905 until her retirement in 1948.

And, in a nutshell, the fictionalized life of Belle da Costa Greene, is well told in the book The Personal Librarian and makes the reader wish to know more about the librarian herself.

Readers are advised to check out the biography An Illuminated Life: Belle da Costa Greene’s Journey from Prejudice to Privilege by Heidi Ardizzone Ph.D which may be requested from the Alfred Library.

And for a brief overview of Belle’s life check out her obituary, which was published in the New York Times in 1950:

Have a great day,

Linda Reimer, SSCL