Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Review: The Personal Librarian

The Personal Librarian The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Belle la Costa Greene was J.P. Morgan's personal librarian (and rare books and art collector) who went on to run The Morgan Library after his death, converting it into the public serving institution he always planned. Her story is fascinating, having to pass as white to live/work/move in the circles she did, how this issue separated her parents, etc. The authors did a great job at blending research with imagination; Belle may have burned her personal papers but all the people she wrote to and did business with over the years did not!

An interview with the authors will come up on the podcast but in the meantime I can recommend this book of historical fiction!

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