The Personal Librarian

On the way home to the Greeners’ crowded apartment, Belle reminisces about her extended family in Washington, D.C., where Grandma Fleet presided over them all and where Richard Greener, Belle’s father and a respected civil rights advocate, doted on her. Belle was 17 when Richard discovered that Genevieve listed the family as white to secure their Central Park apartment. Genevieve argued that increasingly discriminatory laws meant passing was the only path forward for their children. Richard saw passing as a betrayal of their race and his own political work, and he left the family that night. Genevieve created a white persona—Belle da Costa Greene, an olive-complexioned white woman with a Portuguese grandmother—to allow Belle to pass as white after the separation.

In the present, Genevieve reminds Belle that the family is depending on her. She asks Belle tough questions as preparation for her job interview.

Days later, Belle has her interview with J.P. Morgan in his intimidating home. He inspects her like a piece of art, which reminds Belle of his reputation as a philanderer. Following her mother’s advice to be confident, Belle makes the case that what seem like flaws—her youth and gender—are strengths that will allow her to make J.P.’s collection unique. She repeats the lie about her Portuguese grandmother when J.P. comments on her complexion. She secures a job offer by showing off her knowledge of Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur, a rare book printed by William Caxton, the man who imported the printing press to England. This text is the one J.P. most desires for his collection.

On her first day, Belle is overwhelmed by the ornate library through which she walks to meet with J.P. She is relieved that she sees no Black staff (her mother has warned her to ignore them in case they recognize her as Black). J.P. is courteous at first. He tests Belle’s knowledge of New York’s elite by seeing if she is familiar with a recent scandal. This test and his clear attraction to her put her on notice that her relationship with such a powerful white man will require careful management. She is shocked when he tells her the fancy room she walked through is her workspace. She promises to make the Pierpont Morgan Library unique among libraries if given the chance.

Belle returns home to a surprise party and many questions about the Morgans. Belle then has a flashback to her tenth birthday. Richard bought her an advanced art history book (Bernard Berenson’s The Venetian Painters of the Renaissance), a gift that complemented their many trips to study art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Back in the present, Genevieve shares with Belle a letter from an uncle in D.C. about Richard’s diplomatic post in Russia. Richard has a new partner and two children; it is clear he will never return. Belle doesn’t comfort her mother (the two women are not tender with each other). She instead studies the Latin Primer, a text that will help her to become more fluent in the languages she needs for work. She knows that “the well-being of [her] family now depends upon” her success (43).

Six months pass. Belle encounters Anne, J.P.’s daughter, who is typically rude and cold to Belle. J.P. browbeats Belle because she still hasn’t found the rare Caxton book he mentioned during her interview. Belle assumes that he is reminding her that he has all the control in the relationship. She is used to dealing with complicated relationships, but his demands are hard to manage. She proposes that J.P. allow her to serve as a gatekeeper between him and the collectors to prevent them from overcharging him. Flattered by this idea, he agrees to it and instructs her to attend a party at the Vanderbilts, his rivals in wealth and rare book collection.

Four days later, Belle goes to the Vanderbilt party. The butler sneers at Belle’s lack of a date, and Anne snubs Belle as she enters the party. Belle realizes her mother’s advice to dress modestly in a plain dress was misguided. The bold hat her sister advised her to wear is the only redeeming part of her outfit. Belle observes that sartorial style and flirtation are tools affluent women use to interact with men.

A Black server at the party recognizes that Belle is passing with a conspiratorial wink, reminding Belle that for the sake of her family and people like the server, she must move through this world as if she belongs there. Belle flirts her way through the crowd until she encounters Smythson, a shifty dealer. J.P. spots her, and the two of them use wit to humiliate Smythson. J.P. is impressed and tells Belle who his other rivals are. Belle is shocked when she senses attraction between her and J.P.

Belle returns home that night, where Teddy, the baby of the family, is waiting up to ask about the dresses at the party. Teddy doesn’t remember a time before they were white and is unaware that their light skin color comes from sexual assaults by white men on previous generations of women in their family. Genevieve sends Teddy to bed but insists that Belle stay up to study the Latin Primer. Belle feels some resentment because this late-night study session is as close to an expression of caring that Belle can get from Genevieve.

Almost six months later, Belle convinces J.P. to let her attend an auction in his place. He is after an early 16th-century Bible made for Charles I of England. Another surge of attraction passes between them during this conversation, and Anne enters just as they are toasting their plan. Anne intently questions Belle about her Portuguese background, then she says she heard rumors that Belle has “tropical roots,” an implication that she is not white (73). Belle counters that she has heard rumors as well (referencing the gossip that Anne is in a “Boston marriage” (i.e., a relationship with another woman), but she ignores such talk (74). J.P. ends this tense exchange.

At the auction the next day, Belle goes against her mother’s advice by assuming a bold, confident stance. She wears a vivid red scarf to call attention to herself and signal her bids. She knows she must impress this crowd, made up of mostly white men dressed in gray and black. She cannot hope to blend in. She takes a seat at the center space usually reserved for power bidders and wins the Charles I Bible.

Three months later, Belle attends an opera with her brother Russell because Genevieve thinks he can get a job by socializing with New York society. He looks just like Belle, and rich people don’t discuss jobs at the opera, so taking him along is a risk. Belle, now with a bigger salary and an increased profile in the society pages, has more to lose if she is unmasked.

She and Richard encounter Elsie de Wolfe, one of Anne’s partners. Elsie asks if Belle has Cuban ancestry (another coded reference to being of African descent). Belle counters by shaming Elsie, supposedly a feminist, for gossiping about another woman. She also indirectly references rumors about Elsie’s relationship with Anne. Elsie withdraws, and Belle accepts that the Greeners live on a “tightrope” (86). She must accept that rumors about her race will never go away.