
“The Personal Librarian” is the story of Belle da Costa Greene, the librarian who developed and managed the personal library of J.P. Morgan, the wealthy financier. This was a highly unusual situation. Belle was the only applicant for the job who was a woman. Even more unusual, she was African-American.
Belle was born in 1879 to black parents. Her father was a professor and dean at Howard University School of Law; her mother was a music teacher. After Belle’s parents divorced, her mother was determined to give her children every opportunity that white children had. She changed their last name to Greene, moved the family to a new town where no one knew then, and pretended that they were caucasian. She also invented a Portuguese grandmother in the family tree to explain the somewhat olive complexion of some of her children. All of the children were taught to speak eloquently and conduct themselves in a cultured manner.
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