Authors Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray will be in conversation about their new book, The Personal Librarian, with Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress.
The Personal Librarian tells the remarkable story of 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 in the Morgan Library.
In her 20s, Greene is hired by Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built library. Belle becomes a fixture in New York City Gilded Age 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. While she is an extraordinary woman, famously stylish and witty, she must go to great lengths to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.
A recording of this virtual event will be available through August 3.
Authors Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray will be in conversation about their new book, The Personal Librarian, with Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress.
The Personal Librarian tells the remarkable story of 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 in the Morgan Library.
In her 20s, Greene is hired by Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built library. Belle becomes a fixture in New York City Gilded Age 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. While she is an extraordinary woman, famously stylish and witty, she must go to great lengths to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.
A recording of this virtual event will be available through August 3.
Authors Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray will be in conversation about their new book, The Personal Librarian, with Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress.
The Personal Librarian tells the remarkable story of 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 in the Morgan Library.
In her 20s, Greene is hired by Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built library. Belle becomes a fixture in New York City Gilded Age 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. While she is an extraordinary woman, famously stylish and witty, she must go to great lengths to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.
A recording of this virtual event will be available through August 3.
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