Books give us a world of words where life and literature connect.
17 Bookers descended on the home of Debbie Yarger, who not only hosted our evening “wine and cheese” meeting but led the review and discussion of this month’s novel. Many thanks once again to our food and beverage czar, Bonnie Magee, for coordinating our hearty fare and to those who volunteered to bring all the yummy treats!
Bookers have always been committed to our members and often reach out with expressions of support when one is dealing with turmoil. Sometimes we are not aware of these inner struggles, but it is unforgivable to underestimate the pain of one person. To those in need – and you know who you are – we hope your strength of spirit feeds your mind with our love. Please know you all are in our hearts and prayers and don’t hesitate to let us know if there is anything we can do to help.
The Personal Librarian is a work of historical fiction based on the life of Belle da Costa Greene, a Black woman who passed as white with her assumed identity allowing her to rise in the world of rare art and book collections at twenty-three-years old, becoming the personal librarian to seventy-five-year-old Wall Street icon and philanderer, J.P. Morgan. The novel traces the price she paid for her choice, quickly learning that being white does not eliminate the prejudices against women working in a male-dominated field. Her observation skills detected how women used flirtation as social currency quickly implementing that tactic in her everyday life as the best way to avoid questions about her identity.
Heather Benedict Terrell has written seven novels under Heather Terrell and eleven under the pen name of Marie Benedict, which she prefers. She grew up and still resides in the Pittsburgh area with her husband and two children. She first discovered Belle while working as a commercial litigator in New York City when a library docent at the Pierpont Morgan Library shared her story. For decades the question lingered, “What was it like for Belle to live as a white woman?” She recognized she could not write this story alone, reaching out to contemporary writer Victoria Christopher Murray to collaborate – creating an instant friendship and sisterhood while creating Belle’s story. A new release, First Ladies, will drop June 2023, continuing their writing prowess.
Debbie provided a visual timeline of Belle’s life along with a detailed accounting of her relationships with her family; the lengths her mother went to solidify her daughter’s success in the business world and the pressure she endured as the family’s breadwinner; her loving then strained relationship with her father; her ability to learn on the fly executing high-dollar transactions without hesitation in order to acquire what her boss desired; the unwavering trust Mr. Morgan had in Belle, though sometimes laced with “romantic” innuendos from him and how their relationship changed into possessive and over-bearing with him stating “you are mine and I own you;” how her naivety was on full display with her relationship and consequential pregnancy with art critic, Bernard Berenson, and their involvement throughout the remainder of her life; Belle’s heartbreak at the death of Mr. Morgan, her inheritance of $50,000.00 from his estate, and her continuation of her legacy as the most successful woman in the world; her confession of her true identity at the tomb of Mr. Morgan ten years later; her successful efforts to make J.P. Morgan’s library accessible to all by converting it into a public institution; and finally destroying all of her personal history in an effort not to blacken her legacy – she had lived most of her life as a mystery and wanted to end her life as a mystery as well.
The Morgan Library will celebrate its centennial as a public institution in 2024 and Belle da Costa Greene will once again be front and center as the personal librarian who was critical to the Morgan’s success.
Our discussion:
The novel was filled with fancy parties with the upper crust of society wearing flashy gowns. While cleaning out my mother-in-law’s house after she passed, I discovered a vintage gown hanging in a wardrobe. She and Jim were a hard-working middle-class family trying to make ends meet who retired at their lake home on Cedar Creek Lake. The dress was so unique to the person I had known for decades, I had to investigate. As it turns out the label, Morton Myles, was a New York designer who gained instant recognition in 1961 when Jacqueline Kennedy appeared on the cover of Look Magazine in his blue sleeveless dress for a family photo with the President, Caroline, and newborn, John-John. He maintained offices on 7th Avenue in New York until retiring in 1994. As it hung above Debbie and me, one could only imagine the story attached to this beautiful dress – mystery unsolved.
The majority liked/loved this story with one saying she would have liked it better if had been 200 pages shorter as technical details got in the way of the story. We applauded Belle the woman and not just as a Black woman but her resourcefulness, lack of intimidation, and success in that era and how imperative Victoria’s input was to the voice of Belle. Although in one biography of J.P. Morgan, Belle was identified as “colored” on her birth certificate, the authors did a skillful job of filling in the blanks of her life in a believable narrative detailing the interactions of all the characters as they related in various ways to each other. We marveled at how a seventeen-year-old Black girl could put those years behind her and assume the role of a white woman. We talked about Belle’s amazing lack of knowledge as to how babies were made citing a chastity belt might have been an appropriate apparatus in her case. Belle’s mother, Genevieve, sacrificed her marriage to launch a masquerade that would continue throughout Belle’s life by registering her as white, certain her daughter’s life would be easier because of it while her father, Richard, was disappointed in Belle for not embracing her heritage. We wondered how a man like J.P. Morgan could put his undivided trust in this young woman, although she had proved herself to be one smart cookie while working at Princeton University Library where she became acquainted with J.P.’s nephew. Some Bookers had read and enjoyed other works by Benedict who champions strong women who have left legacies but often as readers we are not aware of who to be beholden to. Ghosts in the closet and secret lives littered this novel, but did you know Charles Lindbergh had three separate families who knew nothing about each other; Charles Dickens often talked in a language he invented; and Alexander Graham Bell believed deaf people were a threat to the human gene pool…and no the “bot” didn’t supply this information! We talked about Bernard as handsome but a user and whether he really did love Belle or was just using his “resources” to solidify a relationship with this impressionable young woman. We all expressed an interest in visiting the Morgan library and learned about the Isabella Stewart Museum in Boston where Bernard was the art curator. In Isabella’s will she stipulated that nothing in the galleries should be changed – no items be acquired or sold. A painting was stolen and there is a blank space where it originally hung. We “noodled” whether Belle’s attraction to “older” men might be tied to a search for approval, maybe a father figure since her own was not in her life. A published Kirkus Review pronounced the novel, “exposition-laden…dialogue is stilted…strangely stuffy and muted.” We disagreed. The answer to whether today’s Blacks desire to be white was a resounding, no way. We concluded with funny stories of visiting the Big Apple.
On the business side:
Last month we discussed the new artificial intelligence bot, ChatGPT which can be used to write poetry, code, essays, etc…(https://chat.openai.com) jokingly suggesting we might have found a permanent reviewer for our selections. I entered this novel and within seconds “it” rewarded the inquirer with a recap of the story and what readers thought. I also asked “it” for a conversation between an older man and his younger lover to which “it” apologized for not being able to generate inappropriate or offensive content – maintaining ethical standards and respect for all individuals. Is everything on the Internet true? “It” spit out, the first woman President of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton, served as the 45th President of the United States from January 20, 2017, to January 20, 2025. Asked and answered – but far from reality.
Bookish news – they exceeded their goal raising funds to supply Malakoff Elementary school’s new book vending machine. April 29th is their 3rd anniversary and will be celebrating with children’s storytime @ 11, bounce house, and free snow cones for the kids attending. From 7:00-9:00 p.m. a grown-up book fair will be held across the street @ The Chalk Lounge with shopping, live music, and literary-themed cocktails available.
The annual Cedar Creek Lake Festival will be held April 22nd at Cedar Creek Brewery, 336 East Cedar Creek Parkway, Seven Points, Tx. 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Free admission and food and beverage stations will be provided by the Brewery; 40 local vendors; raffle drawings and all profits will be donated to local charities. Both Patsy and I will be peddling our wares.
Stay tuned for John Grisham’s sequel to The Firm, The Exchange to be released in October.
“Changing your name is easy. Changing your soul is impossible.”
Happy Reading,
JoDee
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