The Personal Librarian

Some spoilers so read at your own risk :)

“I accepted my mother’s decision as if it were my own and I became the white woman known as Belle da Costa Greene” (Benedict and Murray 20). The novel The Personal Librarian By Marie Benedict and Victoria Murray is about Belle Marion Greener. She was born to the first black graduate of Harvard, Richard Greener and her mother who is a teacher. However, segregation does exist. So when the opportunity arises, her mom does what she thinks is best and lies on the census saying that she, Belle, and Belle’s siblings are white. They have slightly olive colored skin due to their “Portuguese heritage.” Then one day, There is an opening for a librarian for J.P Morgan’s personal library to make a collection of artwork, books, artifacts etc. So naturally, Belle applies. She gets the job, but now if she is found out, she will be fired and it’ll be quite public.

While reading, it is clear how anxious Bell feels. She is constantly wondering and worrying about whether her secret will be discovered. There were definitely a few times when people would hint at or try to get Belle to reveal herself. “Your skin is so dark in this Italian sun—comments that sounded more like prompts for disclosure than innocent reflections.” (Benedict and Murray 198) When going somewhere, she would go with her sister, rather than with her brother as he was darker skinned than her. Throughout the novel, pros and cons to Belle passing are being laid out, she gets more rights and is able to have the job under J.P Morgan, but she also cannot have children. This point in particular came up quite a bit, if she has a kid and they have darker skin than her, it will be clear that she is not white and could put herself and her family in danger.

Similar to when we were reading If I Ever Get Out of Here, there is code switching constantly going on. At work, at auctions, and social events, Belle is white and she makes sure to never give anyone a reason to think otherwise. At home and visiting family in DC, they are black and race is always a topic up for discussion. Early on in the book, Belle, her mom, and siblings visit her mom’s side of the family. Choosing to pass as white split her off from her dad, as he was a civil rights activist and not light skinned. I hadn’t thought about how her passing would affect the relationship with her mom’s side of the family though, they eventually warmed up, but were not super open to their first visit.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book. The plot was interesting, the characters were real, and the writing style was absolutely beautiful. One of my favorite genres is historical fiction. So this historical novel based on a true story was right up my alley. I read the blurb in the inside of the front cover and was from that point on, invested in this story. Something I found interesting is that the book is written by two authors, one being Marie Benedict who had a co-author, Victoria Christopher Murray who is black and could relate more, in the hopes of making the story more authentic. This book was extremely thought provoking. I loved getting to learn about passing, a part of history that is overlooked at times and not talked about very much. However, there were parts where it felt really slow and less interesting. About three quarters through the book, J.P Morgan dies. When I looked and saw that there was still a fourth of the book left I was at a loss for words. I wasn’t expecting it and their relationship had become an interesting plot point. All things considered, I definitely recommend this book.

-Ana