The Personal Librarian Summary
Marie Benedict

The Personal Librarian Overview

The Personal Librarian, written by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, follows the life of Belle Marion Greener, a Black woman whose light skin color allows her to live as a white woman named Belle da Costa Greene. Belle's mother had made the choice of passing for white because it allowed Belle and her siblings to become educated and have successful careers during a time when racial inequality was a constant threat to non-whites. Belle takes a job with financial wizard John Pierpont Morgan as his personal librarian. Together, they amass an impressive collection of manuscripts and art, which become a public library in the decades after his death. The novel's main themes are inequality, taking risks, and social expectations.