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Title details for Belle Greene by Alexandra Lapierre - Available

Belle Greene

by Alexandra Lapierre
Tina Kover
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available

Based on the true story of Belle da Costa Greene, a woman who defied all odds to carve out a destiny of her own choosing, this is a richly imagined novel bursting with atmosphere, lush period detail, and many unforgettable characters. New York in the 1900s. A young girl fascinated by rare books defies all odds and becomes the director of one of the country’s most prestigious private libraries. It belongs to the magnate J. P. Morgan,darling of the international aristocracy and one of the city’s richest men. Flamboyant, brilliant, beautiful, Belle is among New York society’s most sought after intellectuals. She also hides a secret. Although she looks white, she is African American, the daughter of a famous black activist who sees her desire to hide her origins as the consummate betrayal. Torn between history’s ineluctable imperatives and the freedom to belong to the society of her choosing, Belle’s drama, which plays out in a violently racist America, is one that resonates forcefully, and illuminatingly even today. The fruit of years of research and interviews, Alexandra Lapierre’s magnificent novel recounts the struggles, victories, and heartbreaks of a woman who is free, astonishingly determined, daring, and fully, exuberantly alive.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 14, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781609457808
      • File size: 548065 KB
      • Duration: 19:01:48

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      Starred review from April 15, 2022
      In this fictionalization of a true story, a young Black woman named Belle da Costa Green passes for White and rises to become the first director of J.P. Morgan's library. In this extensively researched historical novel, we see Belle from the time she's a young woman born Belle Greener, daughter of the first Black man to graduate from Harvard. After he abandons his family, Belle makes a pact with her mother and siblings to change their surname and pass for White. They swear secrecy. None will have children, for fear of being found out: "Six irrevocably intertwined fates, and if any one of them were to fall short, it would bring the others down with it." Brilliant, bookish, and unsentimental, Belle gets a job at the Princeton library, where she meets Junius Spencer Morgan and eventually finds her way to his uncle J.P., who's looking for someone to oversee his new project. Belle's literary expertise helps her secure Morgan's trust, and he rewards her with the responsibility of shaping the library's collection. Belle closes herself off to thoughts of her heritage or her former life. Her focus on success remains singular. Morgan is mercurial and possessive. Belle is formidable. She's torn by twin feelings: "the intoxication of feeling herself to be free, and the frustration of having to submit to the tyranny of her master." Eventually, Morgan sends her to Europe to bid on items at auction; the library is entirely hers to shape. Yet she's aware at all times that she has "a career based entirely on the protection of an individual more rich and powerful than [herself]." Tension builds as Belle tries to avoid losing the career that supports her family. As she tries to outbid the other collectors of the day in a new world that's full of wealth and eager to grab up the world's treasures, she presents a carefully shaped persona. She adopts a new background because she believes it's the only way to succeed in a broken system. Passing for White puts Belle's life at risk every day. She's consumed by the library and her secret; scenes with her real-life historical counterparts are fleshed out with dialogue drawn from primary sources such as letters. Occasionally these conversations feel stilted, but Belle's story is so exceptional that readers won't mind. An engaging story about a brilliant woman who risks everything.

      COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Based on the true story of Belle da Costa Greene and narrated by Ja'Air Bush, this historical fiction offers a close look at New York City in the 1900s and the amazing brilliant woman who became the first director of J.P. Morgan's private library. The novel traces Belle's life, starting when her Black family makes the dangerous decision to pass for white. Bush has a pleasing voice, and her spunky attitude reflects young Belle and the young nation. In narrative sections, Bush's phrasing and pauses are stilted and choppy, but when she performs scenes between characters, she is spot-on. Belle's glamorous life is always in danger from racists on both sides of the color line. Her absorbing story is well researched and filled with fascinating details. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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