The Personal Librarian is the fictionalized story of Belle Da Costa Greene.
When she is in her twenties, Belle is hired by the wealthy banker and art collector J.P. Morgan. Her job is to search, find and curate the artworks, books and manuscrips for his new Pierpont Morgan Library.
Belle has to hide a big secret though, which was dangerous in that time era; She was not born Belle Da Costa Greene but Belle Marion Greener.She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. Belle's complexion isn't dark because of her alleged Portuguese heritage that lets her pass as white her complexion is dark because she is African American. What is J.P. Morgan finds out? Will her life or her and her family that she has support financially be in danger?
Belle is good at her job as a curator, which doesn't go unnoticed by J.P. Morgan, who is kind to her and impressed by her good work.Belle becomes a fixture on the New York society scene and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps build a world-class collection. But J.P. Morgan's daughter Anne keeps asking her impertinent question about her ''tropical looks'' which makes Belle truly uncomfortable and anxious. She meets many people in the international art world, including someone she gets a relationship while he is in an open marriage and while she has something going on with J.P.Morgan too. This result in whirlwind of events.. and during this she must hide her true identity while working with the wealthy in a racially segregated world.
The book is written only from the perspective of Belle, this made the story very clear because it was not switching between characters, I really liked that!Further on the rest of the story was also very clear in character, location, just everything. If you don't know much about J.P. Morgan, Belle, or any other historical things happening in the book, then it truly doesn't matter, because everything is described and laid out so detailed and well, and it is written just in a breathtaking and beautiful way!! Further on the book discusses the actual topic of racism, which also took place in the Gilded Age, and which impacts Belle's life and that of her family a lot in a horrible way. But don't let this tragic part take you back from reading this amazing good book!!
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