The Personal Librarian

Fiction book based on historical research.

At the suggestion of a good friend, I visited The Morgan Library while in New York. It was stunning to say the least, but when I saw a copy of The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict in the museum bookstore, I finally made the connection. Later I found a paperback at the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore on Lexington and sat right down and started reading about Belle da Costa Greene and her role as J.P. Morgan’s librarian. Visiting The Morgan definitely makes the book even more fascinating, but the story itself was masterfully told, inviting the reader int Belle's life in a way that made it feel real. This is a story in which fiction and history are so expertly woven together that the reader feels swept into the past. An intriguing story beautifully told.

One would never argue with NPR, and this is, indeed, a notable book. It introduces the literary world to Belle de Costa Greene née Belle Marion Greener. A remarkable woman who lead a courageous life risking exposure at every step, she is the model of self-actualization. Belle pursued professional fulfillment and financial security for her family at great cost. Her story will make the hearts of women everywhere swell with pride and inspiration at what she achieved but ache at what she sacrificed to get where she deserved. So, why the rating? Belle was a magnetic, savvy, and remarkably brave woman, but this literary imagining of her felt too restrained and stilted, as another reviewer pointed out. Perhaps this is the result of legal training that hasn’t quite faded, but Benedict’s writing style seems two-dimensional, like pictorial space painting. Whereas writers such as Jesmyn Ward and Christy Lefteri, as examples, produce works that are deeply visual with emotive reach that only linear perspective can offer. We can hand out effusive kudos for Benedict’s research bonafides, though. Her legal training comes in handy here. Beyond the writing style, I can’t help but think that Benedict was onto something in questioning whether she was the voice for this story. “How could I possibly conceive of what it would be like to be an African American woman in the years immediately after the Civil War…?” Murray, on the other hand, said, “I knew Belle from my own familial experiences. I knew the pain of the decision she made to leave behind her heritage, and then the fear of exposure that came with that choice.” Good writers should be able to tell any story that speaks to them, but some stories, such as this one, beg for empathy that can fully arise only from a lived experience. The partnership with Murray and Benedict is a good one, as they will attest. One might wonder, though, had Murray been in the lead with Benedict tuck pointing for historical credibility, would this story have had more dimensionality?

One liner: A well-researched fictional account of one of the greatest business women history has overlooked for far too long. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Belle Da Costa Greene served as JP Morgan’s Personal Librarian and was consider one of the world’s most successful business women during her lifetime. Her parents were both of mixed race and they split when her mother listed the family as white on a census when her dad was working to advance civil rights. Belle hid her ancestry from everyone she worked with. Her job with Morgan allowed her to support her entire family, travel the world, and collect the antiquities she loved. She is credited with curating Morgan’s collection and continued to run the library that bore his name long after his death. This is a fictional account of her life but everywhere they could the authors based the story on evidence from the time. She burned all her personal writings before her death but accounts appear in other contemporaneous writings. Three of my book clubs picked this book and it hits one of my sweet spots for reading (historical fiction) so I knew going in that it had a great chance at being a favorite. This book lived up to everything I was hoping for (and hopefully the same for everyone in the book clubs who voted for it). This will stay on my permanent book shelf and likely be re-read multiple times.

Sophomoric writing, but the fascinating story makes it worth a read. The cultural issues drive any discussion.