Books: The Personal Librarian

Our book club's second read was The Personal Librarian, a historical fiction novel by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. The book is about Belle da Costa Greene, the personal librarian of J.P. Morgan and later director of the Pierpont Morgan Library. There are some dramatic liberties taken with Belle's life, but the central dilemma of the novel is entirely real: Belle was born Black but passes for White, a closely guarded secret that if ever discovered, would ruin Belle and her family.

The Personal Librarian was okay, but it felt slight compared to our previous book club choice. Belle deals with conniving art dealers, Gilded Age excess, and even a dash of bodice-ripping romance, but in the end, there's a limit on how exciting reading about the life of even a very famous librarian can be.