Love, Danger, Homecomings & Heart — Your June Reading Escape Starts Here

Capturing the Texas Rancher's Heart

Berkley
July 2021
On Sale: June 29, 2021
Featuring: J.P. Morgan; Belle da Costa Greene
352 pages
ISBN: 0593101537
EAN: 9780593101537
Kindle: B08HL999ZD
Hardcover / e-Book / audiobook
Add to Wish List

Amazon

Kindle

Read Kindle Preview

THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN

Victoria Christopher Murray, Marie Benedict

Victoria Christopher Murray
Author Book List

The remarkable, little-known story of Belle da Costa Greene, J. P. Morgan's personal librarian--who became one of the most powerful women in New York despite the dangerous secret she kept in order to make her dreams come true, from New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict and acclaimed author 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 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.

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 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.