Fiction Addiction Book Club: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray

Name: Fiction Addiction Book Club: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
Start: 2025-01-21T16:30:00-05:00
End: 2025-01-21T17:30:00-05:00
Location: 9318 Apison Pike, Ooltewah, TN, United States, Tennessee 37363

Schedule

Tue Jan 21 2025 at 04:30 pm to 05:30 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

9318 Apison Pike, Ooltewah, TN, United States, Tennessee 37363 | Ooltewah, TN

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.
Marie Benedict is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Mitford Affair, Her Hidden Genius, The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, The Only Woman in the Room, Lady Clementine, Carnegie's Maid, The Other Einstein, and the novella, Agent 355. With Victoria Christopher Murray, she co-wrote the Good Morning America Book Club pick The Personal Librarian and the Target Book of the Year The First Ladies.
Her books have been translated into thirty languages, and selected for the Barnes & Noble Book Club, Target Book Club, Costco Book Club, Indie Next List, and LibraryReads List.
Up next is the February 11, 2025 release, The Queens of Crime, the 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. And in April, her first children’s book will released, a middle grade historical adventure co-written with Courtney Sheinmel called The Secrets of the Lovelace Academy.
This program is open to any community members, no library card membership required!