The Personal Librarian

Now THIS was a book I simply loved. (Which was great after reading Ten Dead Comedians.) The Personal Librarian is a wonderful piece of historical fiction that I would recommend to anyone who loves the genre; or who loves to read about books. Two things I love in a book - the title alone had me requesting it from the library. (Yes, this is another one of those books I knew absolutely nothing about but had to read anyway.) It had been mentioned on my book groups a few times, which made me doubly excited to get my hands on a copy; since everything I saw was positive. 

For those of you who don't know; The Personal Librarian is based on a true story of a Black American woman in the early 1900s passing for white, who becomes the personal librarian for JP Morgan (an extremely prestigious and important man in his time). She is hired on my Mister Morgan himself to curate his incredible collection or rare manuscripts, books, and works of art to build the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City (which today is an impressive museum to these works that I dream of one day visiting). Belle becomes his most trusted advisor, and she becomes known throughout New York society - initially as Mister Morgan's Librarian - and in time because of her intellect and clever character. 

There are SO many layers of depth to this novel. As the book progresses, and you learn more of Belle's family history. Why her family has chosen to live as white instead of black. You will learn about manuscripts and incunabula (something I didn't even know HAD a different word for it!). About the civil rights movement. You will watch Belle develop all sorts of relationships - friends, lovers, her professional relationships. You will see her navigate all of these different worlds. Watch her grow and change from the somewhat shy woman she was raised to be into one of the most sought after women in New York (not to mention parts of Europe). You will be taken through parts (though they are small) of the suffrage movement. You will see her lose parts of herself, and gain others. 

I can't imagine living in a time when you would need to cast off your true identity to feel you were being your true self. To take a different name; a different heritage. To create a whole new history to hide yourself behind. To have to take someone else's secrets as a shield to ensure that your true heritage does not become common knowledge. Reading a book like this makes my heart ache that things like race and sexuality were something that had to be hidden. That religion was still a huge issue for some people (especially in the years leading up to WWII and afterwards). This book will make you feel proud that Belle de Costa Green (truly Belle Marion Greener) shone so brightly; and make you feel thankful for what you have in this day and age.

I implore you to read this book. I could (honestly) talk about it all day; but then.. why would you read it afterwards? This book was a five star read for me. Something I don't come by too often. As always, reader - keep on reading.

https://www.themorgan.org/architecture/j-pierpont-morgans-library/library 

**the images included of the library and Belle are (clearly) not my own, and were found through a simple google search.