The Personal Librarian
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Narrated by:
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Robin Miles
About this listen
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.
©2020 Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray (P)2020 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“Historical fiction at its best.... The Personal Librarian spins a complex tale of deceit and allegiance as told through books.” (Good Morning America)
“Benedict, who is white, and Murray, who is African American, do a good job of depicting the tightrope Belle walked, and her internal conflict from both sides - wanting to adhere to her mother's wishes and move through the world as white even as she longed to show her father she was proud of her race. Like Belle and her employer, Benedict and Murray had almost instant chemistry, and as a result, the book's narrative is seamless...I became hooked.” (NPR)
“An extraordinary tale that is both brilliant historical fiction and an important and timely commentary on racism. By holding up an unflinching mirror and illuminating this little-known chapter in American history, these two gifted authors have penned a work that is a must-read.” (Pam Jenoff, New York Times best-selling author of The Woman with the Blue Star)
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Though raised as a gentleman's daughter, Lorna Gordon is obliged to take a position as an upstairs maid at Blackhall Castle when her father dies. Alex Russell, the Duke of Kinross, is the most tempting man she's ever seen - and completely unattainable until, at a fancy dress ball, Lorna disguises herself as Marie Antoinette and pursues an illicit tryst, with scandalous consequences.
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Excellent!
- By Lady M on 12-16-16
By: Karen Ranney
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To Whisper Her Name
- By: Tamera Alexander
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Olivia Aberdeen, destitute widow of a murdered carpetbagger, gratefully accepts an invitation from 'Aunt' Elizabeth Harding, mistress of Belle Meade Plantation and the dearest friend of Olivia’s late mother. Expecting to be the Harding's housekeeper, Olivia is disillusioned once again when she learns the real reason why Elizabeth's husband, Confederate General William Giles Harding, agreed to her coming.
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Wonderful Book
- By 🌸DARA on 04-03-13
By: Tamera Alexander
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Murder at the Brightwell
- By: Ashley Weaver
- Narrated by: Billie Fulford-Brown
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Amory Ames is a wealthy young woman who questions her marriage to her notoriously charming playboy husband Milo. Looking for a change, she accepts a request for help from her former fiance, Gil Trent. Amory accompanies Gil to the luxurious Brightwell Hotel in an attempt to circumvent the marriage of his sister Emmeline to Rupert Howe, a disreputable ladies' man. Amory sees in the situation a grim reflection of her own floundering marriage.
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Horrible Narration
- By Maribee7 on 05-04-15
By: Ashley Weaver
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The Luxe
- By: Anna Godbersen
- Narrated by: Nina Siemaszko
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Beautiful sisters Elizabeth and Diana Holland rule Manhattan's social scene. Or so it appears. When the girls discover their status among New York City's elite is far from secure, suddenly everyone from the backstabbing socialite Penelope Hayes, to the debonair bachelor Henry Schoonmaker, to the spiteful maid Lina Broud threatens Elizabeth's and Diana's golden future. With the fate of the Hollands resting on her shoulders, Elizabeth must choose between family duty and true love.
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Good story, but. . .
- By Shellra on 05-17-09
By: Anna Godbersen
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The Magnolia Palace
- A Novel
- By: Fiona Davis
- Narrated by: Karissa Vacker
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Eight months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, 21-year-old Lillian Carter's life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists' models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge
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This isn't my favorite but entertaining
- By Linda on 02-01-22
By: Fiona Davis
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And Only to Deceive
- Lady Emily, Book 1
- By: Tasha Alexander
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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For Emily, accepting the proposal of Philip, the viscount Ashton, was an easy way to escape her overbearing mother, who was set on a grand society match. So when Emily's dashing husband died on safari soon after their wedding, she felt little grief. After all, she barely knew him. Now, nearly two years later, she discovers that Philip was a far different man from the one she had married so cavalierly.
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Tiresome
- By nkevinsc on 03-05-15
By: Tasha Alexander
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The Houseguest
- A Pride and Prejudice Vagary
- By: Elizabeth Adams
- Narrated by: Brigid Lohrey
- Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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When Georgiana Darcy comes to Netherfield to visit her brother, she becomes friends with a neighbor, Elizabeth Bennet. After Miss Darcy has returned to London, she invites her new friend to stay with her at the Darcy home in town, unbeknownst to Mr. Darcy.
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Maidens and Matrons
- By BHG on 12-21-16
By: Elizabeth Adams
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Past Imperfect
- By: Julian Fellowes
- Narrated by: Richard Morant
- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Damian Baxter is hugely wealthy and dying. He lives alone in a big house in Surrey, England, looked after by a chauffeur, butler, cook and housemaid. He has but one concern--his fortune in excess of 500 million and who should inherit it on his death.
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Read Snobs instead
- By cristina on 02-14-13
By: Julian Fellowes
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Wager for a Wife
- By: Karen Tuft
- Narrated by: Luone Ingram
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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It is her first London season, and Lady Louisa Hargreaves could not be more pleased. She has attracted the attention of the earl of Kerridge, and the two are on the cusp of an official betrothal. That is, until she learns of a generations-old family debt: Her grandfather gambled her hand in marriage and lost, and now, Louisa must pay the price. She will marry not the earl but a man she just met who has taken her freedom in one fell swoop. Even as she struggles to understand the handsome and aloof man she is to wed, Louisa is irresistibly drawn to him - and he to her.
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Unusual story line
- By Gloria Hubbard on 08-01-22
By: Karen Tuft
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All Hearts Come Home for Christmas
- A Regency Romance Collection
- By: Sarah M. Eden, Anita Stansfield, Esther Hatch, and others
- Narrated by: Luone Ingram
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Christmas at Falstone Castle - Sarah M. Eden - The Dowager Duchess of Kielder eagerly anticipates spending Christmas with her son and his family. Though their relationship has been strained, the duchess is determined to heal the chasm. Even with the help of the widowed local vicar, her plan will take a Christmas miracle. But during this magical season, anything is possible...even two second chances for love.
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Delightful!!
- By Delores DeMaria on 03-02-21
By: Sarah M. Eden, and others
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The Last Summer
- By: Judith Kinghorn
- Narrated by: Jane Wymark
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Clarissa is almost 17 when the spell of her childhood is broken. It is 1914, the beginning of a blissful, golden summer - and the end of an era. Deyning Park is in its heyday, the large country house filled with the laughter and excitement of privileged youth preparing for a weekend party. When Clarissa meets Tom Cuthbert, home from university and staying with his mother, the housekeeper, she is dazzled.
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The Last Summer Delivers
- By Carmen dela Cruz on 05-22-16
By: Judith Kinghorn
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The Truth About Love and Dukes
- Dear Lady Truelove
- By: Laura Lee Guhrke
- Narrated by: Carolyn Morris
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Henry, Duke of Torquil, wouldn't be caught reading the wildly popular "Dear Lady Truelove" column, but when its advice causes his mother to embark on a scandalous elopement, an outraged Henry decides the author of this tripe must be stopped before she can ruin any more lives. Though Lady Truelove's identity is a closely guarded secret, Henry has reason to suspect the publisher of the notorious column, beautiful and provoking Irene Deverill, is also its author.
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One of the very best...EVER!
- By Morgan Mc Glacken on 08-23-17
By: Laura Lee Guhrke
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Darcy's Awakening
- A Pride and Prejudice Variation
- By: Georgina Young-Ellis
- Narrated by: Jannie Meisberger
- Length: 4 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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When Darcy and Lizzy meet at the Meryton assembly, Darcy is already engaged to another woman, and Lizzy has suffered the loss of someone she once loved. How will they find their way to each other, with these obstacles, and so many more, standing in their way?
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A New Twist!
- By HeatherY on 08-29-17
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What would you give up to achieve your dream? When J. P. Morgan hired Belle da Costa Greene in 1905 to organize his rare book and manuscript collection, she had only her personality and a few years of experience to recommend her. Ten years later, she had shaped the famous Pierpont Morgan Library collection and was a proto-celebrity in New York and the art world, renowned for her self-made expertise, her acerbic wit, and her flirtatious relationships. Born to a family of free people of color, Greene changed her name and invented a Portuguese grandmother to enter White society.
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New York in the 1900s. A young girl fascinated by rare books defies all odds and becomes the director of one of the country’s most prestigious private libraries. Flamboyant, brilliant, beautiful, Belle is among New York society’s most sought after intellectuals. She also hides a secret. Although she looks white, she is African American, the daughter of a famous black activist who sees her desire to hide her origins as the consummate betrayal. Torn between history’s imperatives and the freedom to belong to the society of her choosing, Belle’s drama is one that resonates today.
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Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, an Oxford garden shed in which her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Young Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word bondmaid flutters beneath the table. She rescues the slip and, learning that the word means “slave girl,” begins to collect other words discarded or neglected by the dictionary men.
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Born on a plantation in Charles City, Virginia, Pheby Delores Brown has lived a relatively sheltered life. Shielded by her mother’s position as the estate’s medicine woman and cherished by the Master’s sister, she is set apart from the others on the plantation, belonging to neither world. She’d been promised freedom on her eighteenth birthday, but instead of the idyllic life she imagined with her true love, Essex Henry, Pheby is forced to leave the only home she has ever known. She unexpectedly finds herself thrust into the bowels of slavery at the infamous Devil’s Half Acre.
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What listeners say about The Personal Librarian
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Rosemary Wells
- 08-11-21
A brilliant story but needlessly flawed
This novel has a wonderful character, almost unknown to most people. Belle D’Acosta Greene was an African American woman of light complexion, who in the early 20th century became the Morgan Library’s director. She had a gift for recognizing and acquiring priceless manuscripts and works of art. All the while she passed as white to JP Morgan and everyone in his circle. Her life is well documented in this book and it is fascinating. But the book is flawed by a couple of whopper mistakes that its copy editor ought to have caught. There is no “London Harbor”. The Thames can just about accommodate a barge. No big liner ever sailed beyond South Hampton in England to this day. The passengers went by train to London. Not getting details right stalls the reader’s belief in the story. So do words like “ gifting” and “ impacting”, never verbs until late 20 the century. They don’t belong in a 1920 vocabulary. The English Channel is a Channel, not a canal. The narrator is superb and has just the right voice. Marie Benedict is a fine writer. She deserves a better and older copy editor who knows her history and geography.
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4 people found this helpful
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- cyndyloowhoo
- 07-25-21
Amazing!!
This historical fiction novel was and is fantastic. The imagery and dialogue were so realistic— it felt like I was the proverbial “fly on the wall” in JPMorgan’s office! What a life Belle DeCosta Green lived! A true testament to the intelligence and grit of African American people!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Julie K Muller
- 02-27-23
Very well done and interesting storyline
I very much enjoyed this audiobook, you could picture the characters perfectly and it was well researched.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Karen Sands
- 07-27-21
Worth reading. Excellent.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Belle Da Costa Green. Written as a novel and referencing the documents odf history regarding her life was completely engaging.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Roz
- 07-31-21
Thought provoking
I heard about this book on Good Morning America . I saw the 2 authors and and I realized it was going to be history with maybe a little embellishment. As I listened to the book while working, it was hard for me to stop listening. It was very thought provoking. The character of Belle begin to live again in my imagination and I wondered what I would have done in that time if I had had the chance. Would I have stayed to my roots of being a black woman or if I could get away with it, clearly the mid tone of brown my skin would not allow me to, but if I had the chance would I pass to make life easier? I also enjoyed how human I found JP Morgan. Out of all the stories I have heard from him this is the one that not just makes him seem like a hugely rich man which he was but also like a man. It has made me want to know more about Belle and JP Morgan I will be listening to House of Morgan next, and I have done the whole Wikipedia search on Belle already. I highly recommend this book.
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- J.Sipe
- 02-23-23
Enjoyed.
These two authors truly captured the essence of Belle da Costa to me. Even though this story is Historical Fiction, the characters are real as well as underlying narrative. What Bella was able to accomplish as a young woman during that time is inspiring. However, that she had to hide a part of herself off from a judgmental public opinion is disheartening. To make matters worse these are still issues today, so many more years later
4.5/stars overall
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- Lisa Sooter
- 03-07-23
Interesting but a bit slow
Good story and love that it’s true and about a woman of color and her well deserved successes. Interesting look into the man JP Morgan as well. I liked it.
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- miles williams
- 02-15-23
Beautifully read
I’m not sure if I love the story or the narrator more. I’m sad it’s over and I’d read it again in a heartbeat.
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- Cat
- 12-07-23
Great collaboration
I am very glad to have come by this book which went by much too quickly for me. I generally enjoy historical fiction if it is written with care and a sense of authenticity. I believe the Personal Librarian’s thoughts, struggles, and successes were written from a place of understanding and compassion. No one ever really knows the thoughts of another. Often, people don’t even really know their own thoughts. But I never felt the need to question the potential truths in this book. I am glad for the candor of the story tellers with regard to both the separation of fact from fiction, and the storytelling processes. This story was worth telling, might surprise many, and kept me entertained while being informed. I will recommend this to others
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- GmaTina
- 09-10-21
This book is amazing
I loved this book which tells of the struggle of racism and the turmoil from within persons of color. The times were different yet the same today as then. God only knows what the future has in store.
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