--- product_id: 443239699 title: "The Personal Librarian: A GMA Book Club Pick" price: "88.52 DT" currency: TND in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.tn/products/443239699-the-personal-librarian-a-gma-book-club-pick store_origin: TN region: Tunisia --- # GMA Book Club Pick Engaging narrative 300+ pages The Personal Librarian: A GMA Book Club Pick **Price:** 88.52 DT **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 📖 Get lost in a story that’s more than just a book! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Personal Librarian: A GMA Book Club Pick - **How much does it cost?** 88.52 DT with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tn](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/443239699-the-personal-librarian-a-gma-book-club-pick) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Rich Themes:** Explore profound themes that resonate with today's societal issues. - • **Page-Turning Plot:** Experience a gripping story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. - • **Book Club Approved:** Join the conversation with fellow readers and elevate your discussions. - • **Perfect for Millennials:** A modern tale that speaks to the aspirations and challenges of the millennial generation. - • **Unforgettable Characters:** Dive into a world of relatable and complex personalities. ## Overview The Personal Librarian is a captivating novel selected by GMA Book Club, featuring over 300 pages of rich storytelling and unforgettable characters that resonate with the millennial experience. ## Description Over one million copies sold! 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. Review: An unexpected level of historical accuracy for a novel. - The Personal Librarian is a fictional account of the life of Belle da Costa Greene, who managed the acquisition and collection of books and art for J. P. Morgan - his personal librarian, as it were, continuing with his son until her death in 1950, of cancer. During her life, she was most notable for aggressive style in the acquisition of books and art for Morgan, at a time when doing this as a woman was considered highly unusual. But there was another aspect of her life that only came out 49 years later, when a photographer noted that she had spent her entire life passing for white, while in fact, her father was the first black Harvard graduate, and a leader in the civil rights movement, which had regressed profoundly after the civil war, thanks to The Great Compromise of 1877, which led to Jim Crow. Marie Benedict, upon realizing the implications of this, enlisted a co author for the book, Victoria Christopher Murray, to try and concoct a fictional account of Belle da Costa Greene life, with some level of plausibility. I would say they succeeded admirably, even though of course we will never really know what her thoughts were at the time. I will say, much to my surprise, all the basic plot lines are tied nicely to historical facts. In fact, as historical fiction goes, Greene's thoughts notwithstanding, this book seems to have a historical accuracy that I have not experienced in many decades. What an amazing individual. Review: Admired, Accomplished, And Forced to Hide - The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is a compelling and deeply moving novel inspired by the life of Belle da Costa Greene, the brilliant woman who curated J.P. Morgan’s extraordinary library. What struck me most was how admirable she was — intelligent, cultured, strategic, and fiercely competent in a world dominated by powerful men. She did not merely survive in that world; she excelled in it. Belle was clearly a woman far ahead of her time — sharp, ambitious, and unafraid to assert her expertise — yet she had to constantly measure her words, her movements, even her identity. What makes her story both inspiring and heartbreaking is the secret she carried. Because of the rigid racial realities of her time, she chose to pass as white, hiding her Black heritage in order to protect her career and family. Whatever reasons she had, the fact remains that she achieved extraordinary success under immense pressure. She was an achiever in every sense of the word — negotiating rare manuscripts, shaping one of the greatest collections in history, and earning respect in elite circles — all while living with the fear that everything could collapse if her true background were exposed. The novel portrays her brilliance with warmth and admiration, and rightly so. Belle’s poise, taste, and intellect are undeniable. Yet there is a lingering sadness throughout the story. The fact that she burned much of her personal correspondence suggests that even toward the end of her life, she feared the repercussions of her skin color being fully known. That act feels symbolic — a final effort to control her narrative in a society that never fully allowed her to live freely in her own identity. It is difficult not to feel sorrow that she did not live to see a time when things would be better — perhaps not perfect, perhaps only slightly improved, but still better than what she endured. Her life is a testament to resilience, ambition, and brilliance under constraint. The Personal Librarian is ultimately a celebration of an extraordinary woman — one who was not only accomplished, but courageous in ways both visible and hidden. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #1,999 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #2 in Biographical Historical Fiction #4 in Biographical & Autofiction #15 in Black & African American Women's Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 50,341 Reviews | ## Images ![The Personal Librarian: A GMA Book Club Pick - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81RXfoKnM9L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An unexpected level of historical accuracy for a novel. *by C***K on December 30, 2025* The Personal Librarian is a fictional account of the life of Belle da Costa Greene, who managed the acquisition and collection of books and art for J. P. Morgan - his personal librarian, as it were, continuing with his son until her death in 1950, of cancer. During her life, she was most notable for aggressive style in the acquisition of books and art for Morgan, at a time when doing this as a woman was considered highly unusual. But there was another aspect of her life that only came out 49 years later, when a photographer noted that she had spent her entire life passing for white, while in fact, her father was the first black Harvard graduate, and a leader in the civil rights movement, which had regressed profoundly after the civil war, thanks to The Great Compromise of 1877, which led to Jim Crow. Marie Benedict, upon realizing the implications of this, enlisted a co author for the book, Victoria Christopher Murray, to try and concoct a fictional account of Belle da Costa Greene life, with some level of plausibility. I would say they succeeded admirably, even though of course we will never really know what her thoughts were at the time. I will say, much to my surprise, all the basic plot lines are tied nicely to historical facts. In fact, as historical fiction goes, Greene's thoughts notwithstanding, this book seems to have a historical accuracy that I have not experienced in many decades. What an amazing individual. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Admired, Accomplished, And Forced to Hide *by J***F on February 23, 2026* The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is a compelling and deeply moving novel inspired by the life of Belle da Costa Greene, the brilliant woman who curated J.P. Morgan’s extraordinary library. What struck me most was how admirable she was — intelligent, cultured, strategic, and fiercely competent in a world dominated by powerful men. She did not merely survive in that world; she excelled in it. Belle was clearly a woman far ahead of her time — sharp, ambitious, and unafraid to assert her expertise — yet she had to constantly measure her words, her movements, even her identity. What makes her story both inspiring and heartbreaking is the secret she carried. Because of the rigid racial realities of her time, she chose to pass as white, hiding her Black heritage in order to protect her career and family. Whatever reasons she had, the fact remains that she achieved extraordinary success under immense pressure. She was an achiever in every sense of the word — negotiating rare manuscripts, shaping one of the greatest collections in history, and earning respect in elite circles — all while living with the fear that everything could collapse if her true background were exposed. The novel portrays her brilliance with warmth and admiration, and rightly so. Belle’s poise, taste, and intellect are undeniable. Yet there is a lingering sadness throughout the story. The fact that she burned much of her personal correspondence suggests that even toward the end of her life, she feared the repercussions of her skin color being fully known. That act feels symbolic — a final effort to control her narrative in a society that never fully allowed her to live freely in her own identity. It is difficult not to feel sorrow that she did not live to see a time when things would be better — perhaps not perfect, perhaps only slightly improved, but still better than what she endured. Her life is a testament to resilience, ambition, and brilliance under constraint. The Personal Librarian is ultimately a celebration of an extraordinary woman — one who was not only accomplished, but courageous in ways both visible and hidden. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Who Built J.P. Morgan’s Wealth? *by Z***T on June 26, 2024* And at what price did she build it? By choosing to heed her mother’s advice, Belle chose to risk identifying as being a white woman in public, during post the Reconstruction era. To any non-black person, Belle’s light skin, anglicized name, and her love of art history played into the elite white psyche. They blindly decided that she is one of their own. During the time capture in this novel (1905 to 1924), and after the Dyer Bill was filibustered in 1877, blacks who tried to have agency were deemed disrespectful, out of their place and only worthy of being lynched. In particular, the filibuster argument was that they needed to be able to lynch the freed blacks to protect their white women from being raped. So, when Belle’s mother insisted that they all change their name, and identify in every way to the public as having a Portuguese heritage, Belle’s fate was chosen for her. And because a daughter’s first mirror is her mother, Belle studied who she needed to be, how she needed to maintain decorum, and how to talk in a way that black women weren’t and aren’t free to talk amongst wealthy businessmen. She studied how to be coquettish, how to think on her feet, and to deflect whenever necessary. Each successful business transaction and interaction became a cause set in motion towards her simultaneously being more visible to society and more at risk for getting caught. The price of which would impact not only her livelihood, but also that of her mother and siblings. It was interesting to “watch” the struggles that she went through over her question of whether she should have followed her mother’s path, or that of her father, which was the antithesis of her mother’s focus. Her father fought for civil rights, because he believed that some day black folks would be judge by their character. Yet, her mom, based upon witnessing every day blacks being lynched to death for their desire to be integrated socially, politically and economically, in her mind, it was only possible to be successful and free if their entire family takes advantage of looking white by choosing to be white. While reading this book, at first, I wanted to side with Belle’s dad, because to me, owning your voice, being your authentic self gives you peace of mind. Identifying as someone who you are not has always meant to me as lying to myself and destroying the chance of align your personality with your soul. I also saw the pressure Belle lived with when her father left the family because he could no longer live in the dichotomy of “Choose to be white to be successful”, or “Choose to be black to own our right to matter” that existed. Of course, my mindset was based upon living in a freeing society that 1877 to 1924 did not know. Also, we have the benefit born out of the Belle’s in our history, to speak up and be heard. Yet, one hundred years later, June 2024, black women, or any person of color, much modulate their approach to success according to societal unspoken rules. Yes. Belle built the J.P. Morgan wealth by choosing to be white, at the price of her own peace of mind. As a white woman, she could name a price of art, negotiate with old cronies, and close the deal as if she just bent her arm. That wouldn’t have happened had she identified as a black woman, back then. The wealth that she amassed for the Piermont Librarian counted upon her ability to not only study art, network with the best in the business, but also study what it meant to be an influential white woman. If she was going to have to abandon her ethnicity for the sake of her immediate family, she was going have to perpetually study being who she needed to be, and who, as a white woman, she would have licensed to be. She wasn’t free to look a black servant in the eye, for fear that they would report her to the public as being one of them. The only way she saw her biological family was through carefully planned trips that were out of the view of the socially elite. Ultimately, she mastered the public persona, though she struggled with the lie she had to continually nourish and preserve. Like “The First Ladies”, this was an excellently written book that truly helped me to be part of U.S. History. One hilarious moment that reading this book in public was: after waiting a bit for my banker to be available, seeing me reading this book in my hand, she asked, “What are you reading?” My enthusiastic response was, “Oh this is a great historical novel about how a black woman 100 years ago made J.P. Morgan’s wealth.” The look on her face was priceless. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Personal Librarian: A GMA Book Club Pick - The First Ladies - James: A Novel --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.tn/products/443239699-the-personal-librarian-a-gma-book-club-pick](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/443239699-the-personal-librarian-a-gma-book-club-pick) --- *Product available on Desertcart Tunisia* *Store origin: TN* *Last updated: 2026-06-07*