the personal librarian by marie benedict and victoria murray

So, I send money home instead.Īs I duck under a crenellated tower, I moderate my pace so I won't be. On the weekends, I wish I could return to the energy of New York, but the sixty cents for a train ticket is outside our family's budget. It's been five years since I left our New York City apartment for this sleepy New Jersey college town, and the quiet is still unnerving. The Personal Librarian Audio CD CD, Jby Marie Benedict (Author), Victoria Christopher Murray (Author), Robin Miles (Reader) 35,356 ratings Goodreads Choice Award nominee See all formats and editions Kindle 12.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook 0. By the time I pass Blair Arch, my stride is quick but acceptable for a lady. I know I must do nothing to draw any kind of extra attention. I release the fabric and slow down as I weave through Princeton's leafy Gothic landscape, designed to look like Cambridge and Oxford. But just as I gather the heavy material, I hear Mama's voice: Belle, be a lady at all times. I long to break into a sprint, my voluminous skirts lifted, my legs flying along the Princeton University pathways. The Old North bell tolls the hour, and I realize that I'll be late. The Personal Librarian tells the story of an extraordinary woman, famous for her intellect, style, and wit, and shares the lengths to which she must go-for the protection of her family and her legacy-to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives. 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. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. She was born not Belle da Costa Greene but Belle Marion Greener.

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.īut Belle has a secret, one she must protect at all costs. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J.

The personal librarian by marie benedict and victoria murray