Description
The Instant New York Times Bestseller! A Good Morning America* Book Club Pick!
Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR! Named a Notable Book of the Year by the Washington Post!
“Historical fiction at its best!”*
A remarkable novel about J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, the Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white in order to leave a lasting legacy that enriched our nation, from New York Times bestselling authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.
In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture in New York City society 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 create a world-class collection.
But Belle has a secret, one she must protect at all costs. She was born not Belle da Costa Greene but Belle Marion Greener. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. 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.
The Personal Librarian tells the story of an extraordinary woman, famous for her intellect, style, and wit, and shares the lengths she must go to—for the protection of her family and her legacy—to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.
About the Author
Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than ten years' experience as a litigator at two of the country's premier law firms. She found her calling unearthing the hidden historical stories of women. Her mission is to excavate from the past the most important, complex and fascinating women of history and bring them into the light of present-day where we can finally perceive the breadth of their contributions as well as the insights they bring to modern day issues.She embarked on this mission with THE OTHER EINSTEIN, which tells the tale of Albert Einstein's first wife, a physicist herself, and followed that with the USA Today bestselling CARNEGIE'S MAID. Up next was the New York Times bestseller and Barnes & Noble Book Club Pick THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM, the story of the brilliant inventor Hedy Lamarr. Then came LADY CLEMENTINE, the internationally bestselling story of Clementine Churchill. Her next novel, the instant New York Times bestselling THE MYSTERY OF MRS. CHRISTIE, focused on the real life disappearance of Agatha Christie. The bestselling books HER HIDDEN GENIUS, which reveals Rosalind Franklin's discovery of the structure of DNA, and THE MITFORD AFFAIR, which explores the role that history's most notorious sisters played in the rise of World War II, were published in quick succession.Her first co-written novel with the talented Victoria Christopher Murray, THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN, shares the legacy of the brilliant Belle da Costa Greene, J.P. Morgan's librarian, and became an instant New York Times bestseller and Good Morning America Book Club Pick. Most recently, she published another co-written novel with Victoria Christopher Murray, the instant New York Times bestseller and Target Book of the Year THE FIRST LADIES, which explores the world changing friendship of Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune.In February of 2025, Marie will publish her newest novel, THE QUEENS OF CRIME, which is a thrilling story of Agatha Christie’s legendary rival, mystery writer Dorothy Sayers, the race to solve a real-life murder, and the power of friendship among women.Writing as Heather Terrell, Marie also published the historical novels The Chrysalis, The Map Thief, and Brigid of Kildare. Marie's novels have been translated into twenty-nine languages.
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