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Belle Greene
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.
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.
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 20, 2021
202 people are currently reading
3401 people want to read
About the author
Alexandra Lapierre
41 books164 followersAlexandra Lapierre has won international acclaim for her writing. Her works have been widely translated and she has received numerous awards, including the Honorary Award of the Association of American University Women. She earned an MFA degree in 1981 from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
The daughter of the writer Dominique Lapierre, she was brought up surrounded by books. At the Sorbonne in Paris, she learned how to research. And, she said, her studies at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles and the University of Southern California taught her how to tell a story, "something we have forgotten a bit in French literature today."
She was voted Woman of Culture by the city of Rome, Italy, and has been nominated Chevalier in the “Order of Arts and Letters” by the French government. Her most recent work, L’Excessive, was an immediate best seller in Europe and is being developed for a television series. Alexandra Lapierre lives in Paris.
The daughter of the writer Dominique Lapierre, she was brought up surrounded by books. At the Sorbonne in Paris, she learned how to research. And, she said, her studies at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles and the University of Southern California taught her how to tell a story, "something we have forgotten a bit in French literature today."
She was voted Woman of Culture by the city of Rome, Italy, and has been nominated Chevalier in the “Order of Arts and Letters” by the French government. Her most recent work, L’Excessive, was an immediate best seller in Europe and is being developed for a television series. Alexandra Lapierre lives in Paris.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 259 reviews
August 8, 2022
Quick unedited thoughts
GO READ IT! On Hoopla Digital
This book will not receive the review it deserves. I am overwhelmed by all the details and emotions this book evoked. The characterizations are compelling. I was wholly invested in Belle, her conquest and endeavors. J.P. Morgan is indeed a huge figure in history and in Belle's world. The intense relationships, seeing how it all goes down in the art and biblio world, learning about history in a way that is comprehensible-reading this book was an unforgettable experience.
My brain is throbbing with overload just finishing the book hours ago. I am extremely pleased that Europa chose to send an arc of this book to me. I will admit I was intrigued by the content, but also challenged by the daunting page count. Belle Greene was worth every minute of my time. Reading this book at a slow pace, with highlights everywhere, was the right course of action.
Alexandra Lapierre and the translator Tina Kover did an excellent work in allowing the reader to immerse themselves in Belle's world.
I immediately purchased the hardcover and after realizing I could not hold it for long I purchased a digital copy. The digital copy does include photos. I would be remiss to not mention the narrator Ja'Air Bush.
GO READ IT! On Hoopla Digital
This book will not receive the review it deserves. I am overwhelmed by all the details and emotions this book evoked. The characterizations are compelling. I was wholly invested in Belle, her conquest and endeavors. J.P. Morgan is indeed a huge figure in history and in Belle's world. The intense relationships, seeing how it all goes down in the art and biblio world, learning about history in a way that is comprehensible-reading this book was an unforgettable experience.
My brain is throbbing with overload just finishing the book hours ago. I am extremely pleased that Europa chose to send an arc of this book to me. I will admit I was intrigued by the content, but also challenged by the daunting page count. Belle Greene was worth every minute of my time. Reading this book at a slow pace, with highlights everywhere, was the right course of action.
Alexandra Lapierre and the translator Tina Kover did an excellent work in allowing the reader to immerse themselves in Belle's world.
I immediately purchased the hardcover and after realizing I could not hold it for long I purchased a digital copy. The digital copy does include photos. I would be remiss to not mention the narrator Ja'Air Bush.
August 29, 2022
Extraordinary! Thank you to Europa Editions for sending. This was an incredible and engrossing story about Belle Greene. I was transfixed by it from beginning to end.
November 25, 2021
La storia è interessantissima ma è scritta in maniera molto infantile, sembra una fan fiction
August 1, 2022
Belle Greene was a remarkable woman, who lived a remarkable life, and this thoroughly researched fictionalised biography tells her story which is a truly astonishing one. Belle’s family decided, after the father had abandoned them, to spend the rest of their lives passing as a white, a dangerous thing to do in a deeply racist society. Belle herself became the first librarian of the Morgan Library in New York, a close confidante of J P Morgan himself and moved in the highest social circles. She became an expert in the field and was incredibly knowledgeable about books and manuscripts. All whilst hiding her origins. I found the story of her life absolutely fascinating, but the narrative style irritated at times. It’s very basic, quite stilted, with wooden dialogue and far too romanticised. Nevertheless I was so taken up with the story that I could (almost) forgive the writing for the pleasure of discovering all about Belle Greene.
November 26, 2022
If, like me, you read and enjoyed THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN then you might be interested in another take on the fascinating story of the life of Belle da Costa Greene. This novel is translated from French and takes a somewhat different approach. In a note to the reader the author attests:
“The reader may rest securely in the knowledge that even the most novelistic scenes, the most trivial incidents, are the fruit of thorough archival research in Italy, England, and America, and that even the smallest details are based on documented evidence.”
Starting with Belle’s decision to pass in the white world, this story takes us on a detailed recreation of her story. The additional information Lapierre provides fleshed out Belle’s life and answered many of the questions I had. The translation reads easily and the story of Belle rising to fulfill a potential never even imagined is fascinating. There is sufficient new information about Belle’s life to make this an engrossing read, even the second time around.
More than just a story, this is a fictional biography that shines a light on the illustrious, mysterious, and colorful life of Belle da Costa Greene, the “Lady Directress” who breathed life into the Morgan library. It stands today as a public facility and a place of study and enlightenment thanks mostly to Belle’s knowledge and her ability to out negotiate the best collectors in the world.
“The reader may rest securely in the knowledge that even the most novelistic scenes, the most trivial incidents, are the fruit of thorough archival research in Italy, England, and America, and that even the smallest details are based on documented evidence.”
Starting with Belle’s decision to pass in the white world, this story takes us on a detailed recreation of her story. The additional information Lapierre provides fleshed out Belle’s life and answered many of the questions I had. The translation reads easily and the story of Belle rising to fulfill a potential never even imagined is fascinating. There is sufficient new information about Belle’s life to make this an engrossing read, even the second time around.
More than just a story, this is a fictional biography that shines a light on the illustrious, mysterious, and colorful life of Belle da Costa Greene, the “Lady Directress” who breathed life into the Morgan library. It stands today as a public facility and a place of study and enlightenment thanks mostly to Belle’s knowledge and her ability to out negotiate the best collectors in the world.
September 3, 2021
Un roman biographique très intéressant. J’ai écouté le livre audio, une lecture remarquable. Dommage que la lectrice n’ait pas vérifié la prononciation de Sotheby’s. Près de 17 heures de lecture fascinante.
November 8, 2024
This is the most sensationalizing account of Belle Greene's remarkable life--and the worse. The best book on Belle is Heidi Ardizzone's An illuminated Life: Belle da Costa Greene's Journey from Prejudice to Privilege. The daughter of parents of mixed ancestry, Belle passed for white. As J. Pierpont Morgan's librarian she moved in exalted circles. BUT Belle never recorded her thoughts about her racial identity. Her life is fascinating on its own terms--and doesn't require sensationalizing. Read Ardizzone for a much more comprehensive and sensitive treatment of passing. Lapierre's book is full of invented scenes between Belle and her family. If you read the 2022 English translation, be forewarned: the translator doesn't quote Belle's original English, which is often saucy and witty, but from the original French version.
My own book on Belle da Costa Greene came out in October 2024. In Becoming Belle da Costa Greene: A Visionary Librarian through Her Letters, I chronicle the making and empowerment of a female connoisseur, curator, and library director in a world where such positions were held by men. Belle da Costa Greene (1879-1950) was Pierpont Morgan’s personal librarian (1908-1913) and the first Director of the Morgan Library (1924-1948). She was also the daughter of two mixed race parents and passed for white. In the nearly 600 letters that Greene sent to art historian Bernard Berenson (1865-1959), Parker identifies Greene’s energetic pursuit of exceptional opportunities, illuminating the artistry and imaginative features of Greene’s writing—her self-invention, her vibrant responses to books and art, and her path-breaking work as a librarian. As Greene transformed a private library into a magnificent public institution, she also transformed herself: hers was a life both lived and writ large.
My own book on Belle da Costa Greene came out in October 2024. In Becoming Belle da Costa Greene: A Visionary Librarian through Her Letters, I chronicle the making and empowerment of a female connoisseur, curator, and library director in a world where such positions were held by men. Belle da Costa Greene (1879-1950) was Pierpont Morgan’s personal librarian (1908-1913) and the first Director of the Morgan Library (1924-1948). She was also the daughter of two mixed race parents and passed for white. In the nearly 600 letters that Greene sent to art historian Bernard Berenson (1865-1959), Parker identifies Greene’s energetic pursuit of exceptional opportunities, illuminating the artistry and imaginative features of Greene’s writing—her self-invention, her vibrant responses to books and art, and her path-breaking work as a librarian. As Greene transformed a private library into a magnificent public institution, she also transformed herself: hers was a life both lived and writ large.
March 5, 2022
I had this as 4-stars. I couldn't do it. It has to be five :-)
What an incredibly well-written, thoroughly researched , and totally fascinating novel that tells the story of Belle da Costa Greene, who became the director of magnate J. Pierpont Morgan’s library in 1905.
Belle became a librarian at Princeton in 1902, where she met and impressed JP Morgan’s nephew. From him she learned a great deal about collections and collecting. When he suggested to his uncle that she might make a fine director for the personal library he was building, he (eventually) hired her. She was a dynamo ... hard-working, flamboyant, extremely intelligent, beautiful, and a most talented appraiser and connoisseur of manuscripts and works of art. She became the highest paid woman in America and was well-known in the top auction houses and in the most prominent social and cultural circles. (And she knew many of the men in these realms intimately.)
In fact, Belle da Costa Greene was born Belle Marion Greener, daughter of a lawyer (the first Black graduate of Harvard) and a Black mother. By 1898 her father had left the family, and her mother and siblings decided that they would leave their extended family, change their name, and move from Washington, DC, and ... being light-skinned ... pass as white. They fully realized that they could never go back, and if they were discovered in a violently racist America, they would lose everything.
What an incredibly well-written, thoroughly researched , and totally fascinating novel that tells the story of Belle da Costa Greene, who became the director of magnate J. Pierpont Morgan’s library in 1905.
Belle became a librarian at Princeton in 1902, where she met and impressed JP Morgan’s nephew. From him she learned a great deal about collections and collecting. When he suggested to his uncle that she might make a fine director for the personal library he was building, he (eventually) hired her. She was a dynamo ... hard-working, flamboyant, extremely intelligent, beautiful, and a most talented appraiser and connoisseur of manuscripts and works of art. She became the highest paid woman in America and was well-known in the top auction houses and in the most prominent social and cultural circles. (And she knew many of the men in these realms intimately.)
In fact, Belle da Costa Greene was born Belle Marion Greener, daughter of a lawyer (the first Black graduate of Harvard) and a Black mother. By 1898 her father had left the family, and her mother and siblings decided that they would leave their extended family, change their name, and move from Washington, DC, and ... being light-skinned ... pass as white. They fully realized that they could never go back, and if they were discovered in a violently racist America, they would lose everything.
November 28, 2022
Rich, captivating, and immersive!
Belle Greene is a beautifully written, fascinating interpretation that sweeps you away to New York between 1898 and the mid-1900s and into the life of Belle Greene from the abandonment of the family by her father, the first African American to graduate from Harvard, the decision of the family due to their light skin tone to identify as white, befriending Junius Spencer Morgan while working at the Princeton library, to her illustrious career curating J. P. Morgan’s personal library.
The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are hardworking, independent, and determined. And the plot is an absorbing tale of life, loss, love, friendship, familial drama, support, passion, courage, racism, affluence, and the ins and outs of obtaining and cataloguing book collections in the early 1900s.
Overall, Belle Greene is a well-written, compelling, exceptionally researched story by Lapierre that incorporates an engaging mix of real-life historical figures, insightful information, and plausible fiction into a comprehensive tale about the life and brilliant accomplishments of Belle de Costa Greene, one of the most famous librarians of all time.
Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Belle Greene is a beautifully written, fascinating interpretation that sweeps you away to New York between 1898 and the mid-1900s and into the life of Belle Greene from the abandonment of the family by her father, the first African American to graduate from Harvard, the decision of the family due to their light skin tone to identify as white, befriending Junius Spencer Morgan while working at the Princeton library, to her illustrious career curating J. P. Morgan’s personal library.
The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are hardworking, independent, and determined. And the plot is an absorbing tale of life, loss, love, friendship, familial drama, support, passion, courage, racism, affluence, and the ins and outs of obtaining and cataloguing book collections in the early 1900s.
Overall, Belle Greene is a well-written, compelling, exceptionally researched story by Lapierre that incorporates an engaging mix of real-life historical figures, insightful information, and plausible fiction into a comprehensive tale about the life and brilliant accomplishments of Belle de Costa Greene, one of the most famous librarians of all time.
Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
February 27, 2024
4.5 / 5 stars
February 3, 2024
I cannot remember when I’ve enjoyed a book as much as this one, especially a recent release. There is so much in it. Where do I begin?
Belle da Costa Greene is well known in medievalist circles for being the woman who built JP Morgan’s library. A formidable scholar and powerful buyer at a time when women did such things, she also had a big secret — a mixed-race woman at a time when the one drop rule made you Black, she was passing for a white women. The novel shows the stakes of the terrible choice Greene has to make at the very outset, with a tragedy that happens because of it in the 1940s. Putting this tragedy at the beginning makes us read all her successes and achievements through its lens — a powerful authorial decision.
More than a story about race, it’s also a story about gender, about a woman who wanted to be smart and sexy and rich and beloved, not just one or two of those things. The novel pays attention to all of her complexity.
It’s written in third person omniscient pov, as if it were biography rather than fiction and this was a good choice. It allows the author to do a lot more telling about the many people who pass through its pages. The narrative parts concentrate on particular vignettes. It works for me.
I know there’s another recent novel out about Greene. This one is a translation from French. I dipped into the other one last week. I highly recommend this one. I devoured it.
Belle da Costa Greene is well known in medievalist circles for being the woman who built JP Morgan’s library. A formidable scholar and powerful buyer at a time when women did such things, she also had a big secret — a mixed-race woman at a time when the one drop rule made you Black, she was passing for a white women. The novel shows the stakes of the terrible choice Greene has to make at the very outset, with a tragedy that happens because of it in the 1940s. Putting this tragedy at the beginning makes us read all her successes and achievements through its lens — a powerful authorial decision.
More than a story about race, it’s also a story about gender, about a woman who wanted to be smart and sexy and rich and beloved, not just one or two of those things. The novel pays attention to all of her complexity.
It’s written in third person omniscient pov, as if it were biography rather than fiction and this was a good choice. It allows the author to do a lot more telling about the many people who pass through its pages. The narrative parts concentrate on particular vignettes. It works for me.
I know there’s another recent novel out about Greene. This one is a translation from French. I dipped into the other one last week. I highly recommend this one. I devoured it.
November 12, 2022
This is a fascinating story of the life of Belle Greene - a spirited and determined young woman who rose to become the highest paid woman in 1920s America, as the librarian of the JP Morgan library. With a fierce passion for books and manuscripts she built the library collection and laid the foundation for public access. Inspiring enough - and then you remember she did this whilst holding a secret that could ruin her. Great story - I wish I’d of read it before our epic trip to the library in 2019. It reads love narrative non fiction - deeply researched and faithful to source material whilst also being a page turner.
January 18, 2023
Estasiata, veramente estasiata. La febbre dei libri ce l’ho da sempre, ora mi trovo a pianificare gite ai Tatti e a New York inseguendo il fantasma di Belle.
Amo lo stile di scrittura di questa autrice, e del resto non c’era altro da aggiungere. Una storia già piena di avventura rocambolesca che romanzarla l’avrebbe resa improponibile. Il coraggio e la passione di Belle vibrano tra le pagine.
Amo lo stile di scrittura di questa autrice, e del resto non c’era altro da aggiungere. Una storia già piena di avventura rocambolesca che romanzarla l’avrebbe resa improponibile. Il coraggio e la passione di Belle vibrano tra le pagine.
May 6, 2021
intéressant et trop bien, je savais pas que ce genre de situations avaient existé. La longueur le rend trèss satisfaisant à finir
January 7, 2024
Étant dans une phase « romans historiques » en ce moment 😚 j’ai aimé l’idée de départ, le décor et le personnage principal.
Je me suis malheureusement un peu perdue dans les mille détails historiques etc. C’est documenté du coup pas de doute ! Mais selon moi, le rythme global en souffre.
L’aspect biographique documenté l’emporte sur l’aspect roman et la recette prend moins pour moi dans ces cas là 😕
📚 Mention spéciale pour les mille bibliothèques incroyables décrites dans ce livre !
Je me suis malheureusement un peu perdue dans les mille détails historiques etc. C’est documenté du coup pas de doute ! Mais selon moi, le rythme global en souffre.
L’aspect biographique documenté l’emporte sur l’aspect roman et la recette prend moins pour moi dans ces cas là 😕
📚 Mention spéciale pour les mille bibliothèques incroyables décrites dans ce livre !
September 21, 2025
Toto bola velmi, velmi putavo napisana kniha o zene, ktora svoj zivot zasvatila kniznici bohaca a bankara J.P.Morgana. Nielen bohaca, ale aj cloveka, ktory vedel ocenit krasu a mudrost knih a nenechal si ich len pre seba aj vdaka Belle Green. Jej zivot uzko prepojeny s rodinou tohoto bankara a na pozadi toho, americke dejiny a osudova laska. A zaroven tema segregacie a zakona kvapky krvi. Skvela kniha, odporucam.
February 5, 2023
2,5/5
J’ai vraiment été happée par tout le début du bouquin que j’ai trouvé super intéressant mais à un moment c’est vraiment devenu trop long ; trop de noms de personnages, de bouquins, trop de ventes aux enchères, trop de longueurs. Dommage, j’ai lu la fin en diagonale
Chapeau pour le travail de recherche cependant
J’ai vraiment été happée par tout le début du bouquin que j’ai trouvé super intéressant mais à un moment c’est vraiment devenu trop long ; trop de noms de personnages, de bouquins, trop de ventes aux enchères, trop de longueurs. Dommage, j’ai lu la fin en diagonale
Chapeau pour le travail de recherche cependant
May 16, 2024
Read this book. RUN, don't walk.
Even though the author says up front that everything in this book is true, as I read on, it all sounded so incredible that I started to think that she meant the broad outlines of the book are true (J.P. Morgan as a collector, the sinking of the Titanic, etc.). Belle Greene sounded too cool to be real for her time period.
But at the end of the book, the author explained that all of it actually was true, down to the dialog, which was drawn from real letters that live in archives. It was incredibly exciting to find out that Belle Greene was really real and did all the things she does in the book, and of course her father was real, too, and incredibly accomplished in his own right.
This book is up there with The Minds of Billy Milligan in being a good book made 10 times cooler by being a true story.
Even though the author says up front that everything in this book is true, as I read on, it all sounded so incredible that I started to think that she meant the broad outlines of the book are true (J.P. Morgan as a collector, the sinking of the Titanic, etc.). Belle Greene sounded too cool to be real for her time period.
But at the end of the book, the author explained that all of it actually was true, down to the dialog, which was drawn from real letters that live in archives. It was incredibly exciting to find out that Belle Greene was really real and did all the things she does in the book, and of course her father was real, too, and incredibly accomplished in his own right.
This book is up there with The Minds of Billy Milligan in being a good book made 10 times cooler by being a true story.
March 27, 2025
Le rythme de ce livre était incroyable, jamais trop rapide ni trop long, il n’y a eu aucun longueur alors que le bail fait 600 pages. Belle Greene a eu une vie incroyable et on sent vraiment la recherche bibliographique derrière
March 8, 2025
Très contente d'avoir découvert le parcours et la vie de Belle Greene ainsi que la déchirante réalité du passing - Belle est noire avec la peau claire et va modifier (avec sa famille) ses papiers afin d'être considérée "officiellement" blanche dans les États-Unis racistes du début 1900.
Bibliothécaire passionnée et célèbre dans son milieu, lire la vie de Belle permet de visualiser l'époque dans laquelle elle a vécu, notamment en tant que femme.
L'écriture est fluide, il y a peut-être un peu de longueur à certains moments et pas assez de détails dans d'autres mais le travail de recherche et de rédaction par Alexandra Lapierre est très bon.
Bibliothécaire passionnée et célèbre dans son milieu, lire la vie de Belle permet de visualiser l'époque dans laquelle elle a vécu, notamment en tant que femme.
L'écriture est fluide, il y a peut-être un peu de longueur à certains moments et pas assez de détails dans d'autres mais le travail de recherche et de rédaction par Alexandra Lapierre est très bon.
August 10, 2022
Amazing book!!! I can’t wait to go to NY and visit the Morgan Library!!
December 28, 2021
En 1898, aux États-Unis, la communauté noire, issue de l’esclavage, est encore ostracisée. Cela vaut autant pour Richard T. Greener, premier noir à obtenir un diplôme en droit de l’université Harvard en 1870, que pour sa femme et ses enfants qui ont pourtant la peau claire, car « Une goutte de sang noir, une seule goutte de sang noir dans les veines, fabrique à jamais des « nègres ». ». p. 21. Imbu de lui-même, Greener abandonne femme et enfants et s’enfuit en Afrique. Ayant l’audace de son père, la fougueuse Belle refuse de se plier au destin réservé aux noirs. Convaincante, elle entraîne sa mère, ses frères et sœurs dans l’aventure risquée qu’on appelle The Passing, i.e. se faire passer pour un blanc alors qu’on est légalement noir. Ils vont donc changer leur nom, leur lieu et date de naissance, vont déménager et s’installer dans une nouvelle vie. L’amour fou que Belle entretient pour les livres lui permet de se frayer un chemin enviable dans cet univers. Bibliothécaire pour John P. Morgan, richissime banquier de New York, elle passera une bonne partie de sa vie à son service. Dotée d’un flair hors du commun et avec la confiance de Morgan en poche, elle devient mondialement célèbre en s’emparant de pièces anciennes les plus convoitées dans différentes ventes aux enchères.
Livre appuyé sur une histoire vraie. L’autrice précise au début du livre qu’elle s’appuie sur une tonne de documents d’archives pour mettre en mots la vie de cette femme hors du commun. L’écriture est efficace, car ce qui aurait pu se lire comme une simple biographie, se transforme ici en une aventure romanesque. Le personnage de Belle est captivant. Femme délurée, affirmée, ambitieuse et passionnée par son travail, elle détonne lorsqu’on la compare aux femmes de son époque. Sans jeu de mot, on découvre un personnage riche en couleurs. Du même coup, un portrait historique du parcours des noirs et de la ségrégation américaine malheureusement encore présente de nos jours. Pour le résultat remarquable et l’ampleur que représente une telle reconstitution historique, je donne 5 étoiles.
Citations:
«… pendant les deux siècles et demi que dura l’esclavage aux États-Unis, les maitres abusèrent couramment des leurs esclaves, donnant naissance à des enfants métis, qui restèrent esclaves. Ces métissages, qui se poursuivirent sur plus de huit générations, donnèrent naissance à toute une population d’esclaves aux traits « caucasiens », aux cheveux lisses et à la peau claire. » p. 13
« Être l’un pour l'autre, l'Essentiel. Sans être absolument tout. » p. 312
« Un vrai bibliophile. « Sans les livres, soupirait-il en avalant nonchalamment son whisky, Dieu restait muet ». » p. 448
Livre appuyé sur une histoire vraie. L’autrice précise au début du livre qu’elle s’appuie sur une tonne de documents d’archives pour mettre en mots la vie de cette femme hors du commun. L’écriture est efficace, car ce qui aurait pu se lire comme une simple biographie, se transforme ici en une aventure romanesque. Le personnage de Belle est captivant. Femme délurée, affirmée, ambitieuse et passionnée par son travail, elle détonne lorsqu’on la compare aux femmes de son époque. Sans jeu de mot, on découvre un personnage riche en couleurs. Du même coup, un portrait historique du parcours des noirs et de la ségrégation américaine malheureusement encore présente de nos jours. Pour le résultat remarquable et l’ampleur que représente une telle reconstitution historique, je donne 5 étoiles.
Citations:
«… pendant les deux siècles et demi que dura l’esclavage aux États-Unis, les maitres abusèrent couramment des leurs esclaves, donnant naissance à des enfants métis, qui restèrent esclaves. Ces métissages, qui se poursuivirent sur plus de huit générations, donnèrent naissance à toute une population d’esclaves aux traits « caucasiens », aux cheveux lisses et à la peau claire. » p. 13
« Être l’un pour l'autre, l'Essentiel. Sans être absolument tout. » p. 312
« Un vrai bibliophile. « Sans les livres, soupirait-il en avalant nonchalamment son whisky, Dieu restait muet ». » p. 448
March 25, 2022
This is a fascinating history of someone I had never heard of, but who was a world leader in her field. And her family history and what she had to go through to achieve her success are terribly sad.
March 17, 2022
#BelleGreene #NetGalley. 4.5 stars round up to 5 ! Thanks to Alexandra Lapierre author and her translator for this fine work. I had read another authors work and had to balance and compare this one. My Book Club read the other book and we very much wanted to know more actual details, which this one did have.
There is no doubt this family did their best in a world that was unaccepting of different ethnicities. Was it wise overall, who actually could make that decision? Possibly the "we all sink or swim together" seems pretty dictatorial, but by whose standards?
I am very happy to have gotten this book and let others in my book club know. They were also enthusiastic to get it.
There is no doubt this family did their best in a world that was unaccepting of different ethnicities. Was it wise overall, who actually could make that decision? Possibly the "we all sink or swim together" seems pretty dictatorial, but by whose standards?
I am very happy to have gotten this book and let others in my book club know. They were also enthusiastic to get it.
February 28, 2022
Bello
bellissimo
non fatevi intimorire dalla mole del libro, scorre velocemente a metà tra una bibliografia e un romanzo
una storia bellissima, molto attuale
bellissimo
non fatevi intimorire dalla mole del libro, scorre velocemente a metà tra una bibliografia e un romanzo
una storia bellissima, molto attuale
May 12, 2021
L'intérêt du roman biographique est d'être proche de la réalité, sans fioritures Hormis quelques passages qui m'ont paru parfois un peu longuets dans la seconde partie du livre, l'histoire de Belle Greene permet de mdettre en exergue de sujets encore très actuels. J'ai apprécié tout particulièrement la problématique. Entre action et théorie, sur un plan politique. Mais d'autres thèmes sont à découvrir ici, je vous en conseille la lecture.
August 29, 2022
This is definitely the best book I've read in the last few years!! Belle Da Costa's amazing story is thrilling and captivating!!!
June 14, 2022
via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
“𝑰’𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒆,” 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑩𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆. “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕.”
Pretending to be something else, as a survival instinct, is complicated enough but add to that moving among the elite, JP Morgan’s family, where one false move could ruin you, make you a criminal even and the reader gets a taste of life in Belle’s Greene’s shoes. Born the daughter of the brilliant Rick Greener, the first Black student to graduate from Harvard and first and only Black man approved to practice law , by the Supreme Court in South Carolina, it is only ruin that he left for Belle’s mother Genevieve and their brood. Despite his ‘extraordinary rise’ and his passion for educating his people, it is the unforgiveable act of abandonment that changes the fate of his family and puts Belle on the path to becoming the director of JP Morgan’s library.
Genevieve has decided she and her children will pass themselves off as white, but her own mother Hermione knows all too well what a dangerous game it is. For it requires lying and hiding for her entire life, it’s not enough to change how one looks, it is to change the way you behave, speak and even think. It is shaking off the family, herself included, it is madness! There could be no connection that could betray their true origins, Hermione warns her daughter. Genevieve’s thought is, so be it, there is no future for her children, ‘nothing but misery for Blacks’, and she will attain dignity for them all. It is the future of her children she is moving towards, even if they have to lose their identity. It is her light skin that affords her a different future, and her children too. The law is wrong, and sometimes breaking it is the only choice.
So we watch the story unfold around the family dinner table in the year of 1898, at their apartment in Central Park. They must first change their family name, but too they must never have children, as they could have black children despite marrying into white families. Such a mistake would easily give them away. The pact is made to keep their secret safe. They are now the aristocratic family of van Vliet da Costa Greene. There are many color barriers crossed and laws broken, but from the start the laws are unfair. With Belle’s summer cataloguing course at Amherst, she has become a master in bibliography and soars right into good fortune. She knows the opportunities she has are a miracle, even if she works tirelessly to move up, even if it cost them all their past. Being a white woman is a ticket to open doors, especially higher education. Working with scholar and benefactor, Junius Morgan, has her holding treasures in her hand, editions that she would otherwise never be allowed to look upon, let alone handle. Then there is her attraction, love for Junius, but it is his Uncle, JP Morgan, and the chance to direct his library that will be Belle’s greatest challenge. She will earn enough to care for her family, more than she dreamed of, she will finally be free. But is she truly free while under JP Morgan’s thumb?
The most incredible thing about this novel is that it is based on a true story. The man himself was authoritative, the sort people cower from, fearing his power and position. She will find her backbone, ‘face the storm’. Her whole life, however, is one filled with the struggle of submitting and fighting those in power. How long did Belle keep the secrets beneath her light skin hidden? How did she find the strength and use her sharp intelligence to move in such powerful, elite circles at the threat of severe consequences. Passing oneself off as white could be fatal in such times, it’s like living on the edge of a sword. Imagine the fear. What did it cost, to have to hide in plain sight, just for the right to ascend from where others determine your life should be? How did she juggle her fears, the threat that is always present when one reinvents themselves all the while traveling overseas and bidding on more treasures for Morgan’s collection? She truly experienced how race and power shaped the world and the fate all people.
This is one hell of a story and a rich retelling of history. When I really sat back and thought about the time period, the risks, the self-control, ambition and wild bravery of Belle Greene, I was stunned. What a woman! This is someone who chose to determine their own fate, despite the boundaries set in place by those who held all the power. It also cannot be lost that for any woman of the period, it’s an incredible journey and success.
Yes, read it.
Publication Date June 14, 2022
Europa Editions
“𝑰’𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒆,” 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑩𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆. “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕.”
Pretending to be something else, as a survival instinct, is complicated enough but add to that moving among the elite, JP Morgan’s family, where one false move could ruin you, make you a criminal even and the reader gets a taste of life in Belle’s Greene’s shoes. Born the daughter of the brilliant Rick Greener, the first Black student to graduate from Harvard and first and only Black man approved to practice law , by the Supreme Court in South Carolina, it is only ruin that he left for Belle’s mother Genevieve and their brood. Despite his ‘extraordinary rise’ and his passion for educating his people, it is the unforgiveable act of abandonment that changes the fate of his family and puts Belle on the path to becoming the director of JP Morgan’s library.
Genevieve has decided she and her children will pass themselves off as white, but her own mother Hermione knows all too well what a dangerous game it is. For it requires lying and hiding for her entire life, it’s not enough to change how one looks, it is to change the way you behave, speak and even think. It is shaking off the family, herself included, it is madness! There could be no connection that could betray their true origins, Hermione warns her daughter. Genevieve’s thought is, so be it, there is no future for her children, ‘nothing but misery for Blacks’, and she will attain dignity for them all. It is the future of her children she is moving towards, even if they have to lose their identity. It is her light skin that affords her a different future, and her children too. The law is wrong, and sometimes breaking it is the only choice.
So we watch the story unfold around the family dinner table in the year of 1898, at their apartment in Central Park. They must first change their family name, but too they must never have children, as they could have black children despite marrying into white families. Such a mistake would easily give them away. The pact is made to keep their secret safe. They are now the aristocratic family of van Vliet da Costa Greene. There are many color barriers crossed and laws broken, but from the start the laws are unfair. With Belle’s summer cataloguing course at Amherst, she has become a master in bibliography and soars right into good fortune. She knows the opportunities she has are a miracle, even if she works tirelessly to move up, even if it cost them all their past. Being a white woman is a ticket to open doors, especially higher education. Working with scholar and benefactor, Junius Morgan, has her holding treasures in her hand, editions that she would otherwise never be allowed to look upon, let alone handle. Then there is her attraction, love for Junius, but it is his Uncle, JP Morgan, and the chance to direct his library that will be Belle’s greatest challenge. She will earn enough to care for her family, more than she dreamed of, she will finally be free. But is she truly free while under JP Morgan’s thumb?
The most incredible thing about this novel is that it is based on a true story. The man himself was authoritative, the sort people cower from, fearing his power and position. She will find her backbone, ‘face the storm’. Her whole life, however, is one filled with the struggle of submitting and fighting those in power. How long did Belle keep the secrets beneath her light skin hidden? How did she find the strength and use her sharp intelligence to move in such powerful, elite circles at the threat of severe consequences. Passing oneself off as white could be fatal in such times, it’s like living on the edge of a sword. Imagine the fear. What did it cost, to have to hide in plain sight, just for the right to ascend from where others determine your life should be? How did she juggle her fears, the threat that is always present when one reinvents themselves all the while traveling overseas and bidding on more treasures for Morgan’s collection? She truly experienced how race and power shaped the world and the fate all people.
This is one hell of a story and a rich retelling of history. When I really sat back and thought about the time period, the risks, the self-control, ambition and wild bravery of Belle Greene, I was stunned. What a woman! This is someone who chose to determine their own fate, despite the boundaries set in place by those who held all the power. It also cannot be lost that for any woman of the period, it’s an incredible journey and success.
Yes, read it.
Publication Date June 14, 2022
Europa Editions
November 23, 2022
Belle Greene
by Alexandra Lapierre
Just finished this on audio book 👂🏽 and its giving 5 stars. 💫💫💫💫💫
I really liked this book!
There was so much going on in this book! First of all, a hard decision made by a family and the way it plays itself out.
And the Bibliophilia. 🤓
So OK… I really appreciated the depth and detail they went into about all of these historic illuminated manuscripts and valuable books and how they passed from the hands of the richest people in the world, universities and museums and just rich people… Like JP Morgan. Which is a story unto itself! I didn’t know that people thought he sunk the Titanic on purpose! I didn’t know people thought he crashed the stock market all by himself and on purpose!
I loved all the art dealings too and the book selling and buying wheeling and dealing that was going on at auction houses like Sotheby’s…
Tragic mulattoes all over the place passing for white and the consequences, the ultimate sacrifice that was made! Oh my goodness!
I haven’t even got to the main character. Belle Da Costa
Greene…who reinvented herself and her whole family followed suit. In a lot of ways she was stereotypically portrayed according to the common tragic mulatto tropes. The way she contradicts herself all over the place a lot of times, This battle of her emotions and her being fiery and exotic. Now, some of that could’ve been the time in which it was set and some the authors liberty or biases with portraying her that way.
Theres also the absolute control (and devotion) she has over her family… and she is a shrewd businesswoman too.
I am definitely interested in reading a lot more about this person and her life. She did end up being very successful, and she made a huge contribution to the work that she was doing around preservation of and making the JP Morgan library public. She was operating fully within her passion and nothing nothing nothing came before family and that library for her. I appreciated her drive and her determination. And she pulled some pretty bad ass moves in the book that were superb.
And then there was her father. Oh he was a whole piece of work. He was an activist for the “cause of Black people” he says, and he was the first black person to graduate from Harvard, and the first black person to do a whole lot of things and he made a point of saying how true he was to his people, and how he was going to push back against Jim Crow every chance he got howeverrrrrrrr
he also had this way of conveniently ignoring the very thing that made him able to do all these things. Oooo…did not like him! He blames and criticizes Belle for the choices that she made when in all actuality he is the reason that she made the choices that she did, which of course he never takes responsibility for or addresses. Can you say gaslighting?
The irony, the irony of how things turned out just really twisted my heart. Oh it was hard reading/listening to the last part of the book because the way it’s set up you know what’s coming. And it just is heartbreaking.
The depth of research here reminds me of the “House of Gucci” which is another book that I absolutely loved. I will say it’s one of those books that you might have to really love the subject matter In order to fully appreciate it.
I will be learning more about her and JP Morgan and some of the other people that were mentioned in this book. It was fascinating and a great history lesson with a spectacular strong female lead!
5 stars.
#BelleGreene
by Alexandra Lapierre
Just finished this on audio book 👂🏽 and its giving 5 stars. 💫💫💫💫💫
I really liked this book!
There was so much going on in this book! First of all, a hard decision made by a family and the way it plays itself out.
And the Bibliophilia. 🤓
So OK… I really appreciated the depth and detail they went into about all of these historic illuminated manuscripts and valuable books and how they passed from the hands of the richest people in the world, universities and museums and just rich people… Like JP Morgan. Which is a story unto itself! I didn’t know that people thought he sunk the Titanic on purpose! I didn’t know people thought he crashed the stock market all by himself and on purpose!
I loved all the art dealings too and the book selling and buying wheeling and dealing that was going on at auction houses like Sotheby’s…
Tragic mulattoes all over the place passing for white and the consequences, the ultimate sacrifice that was made! Oh my goodness!
I haven’t even got to the main character. Belle Da Costa
Greene…who reinvented herself and her whole family followed suit. In a lot of ways she was stereotypically portrayed according to the common tragic mulatto tropes. The way she contradicts herself all over the place a lot of times, This battle of her emotions and her being fiery and exotic. Now, some of that could’ve been the time in which it was set and some the authors liberty or biases with portraying her that way.
Theres also the absolute control (and devotion) she has over her family… and she is a shrewd businesswoman too.
I am definitely interested in reading a lot more about this person and her life. She did end up being very successful, and she made a huge contribution to the work that she was doing around preservation of and making the JP Morgan library public. She was operating fully within her passion and nothing nothing nothing came before family and that library for her. I appreciated her drive and her determination. And she pulled some pretty bad ass moves in the book that were superb.
And then there was her father. Oh he was a whole piece of work. He was an activist for the “cause of Black people” he says, and he was the first black person to graduate from Harvard, and the first black person to do a whole lot of things and he made a point of saying how true he was to his people, and how he was going to push back against Jim Crow every chance he got howeverrrrrrrr
he also had this way of conveniently ignoring the very thing that made him able to do all these things. Oooo…did not like him! He blames and criticizes Belle for the choices that she made when in all actuality he is the reason that she made the choices that she did, which of course he never takes responsibility for or addresses. Can you say gaslighting?
The irony, the irony of how things turned out just really twisted my heart. Oh it was hard reading/listening to the last part of the book because the way it’s set up you know what’s coming. And it just is heartbreaking.
The depth of research here reminds me of the “House of Gucci” which is another book that I absolutely loved. I will say it’s one of those books that you might have to really love the subject matter In order to fully appreciate it.
I will be learning more about her and JP Morgan and some of the other people that were mentioned in this book. It was fascinating and a great history lesson with a spectacular strong female lead!
5 stars.
#BelleGreene
March 12, 2023
3,5/5
#marsaufeminin : 1e lecture
Le roman s’ouvre sur une lettre choc: nous sommes en 1943, une jeune femme demande à son fiancé de se faire castrer et d’accepter qu’elle ait des enfants avec un autre homme.
Pourtant, 45 ans auparavant, la mère et les oncle et tantes de ce fiancé avaient fait le pacte de ne jamais avoir d’enfants.
C’est la règle de l’unique goutte de sang🩸qui conditionne ces faits et qui engendre le « passing » : se faire passer pour blanc. Après des années de métissage (entendons ici: viols, sur des générations, des femmes noires par leur propriétaire blanc), certains afro-américain à la peau clair se déclarent blancs sous peine de lourdes peines de prisons, voire l’exécution.
C’est l’histoire vraie de Belle Greener du quartier noir de Washington qui deviendra Belle Da Costa Greene, issue d’une famille aristocratique hollando-portugaise et la femme la mieux payée des États Unis.
C’est aussi l’histoire de la Morgan Library, bibliothèque personnel d’un puissant financier américain, propriétaire du Titanic. En effet Belle en sera la bibliothécaire et en fera une bibliothèque riche en ouvrages uniques et précieux accessible à tous.
Un livre très intéressant mais à mes yeux, l’histoire de la bibliothèque a pris trop d’importance sur l’histoire du passing.
Et j’aurais préféré que la rivalité père fille prenne plus de place plutôt qu’un chapitre en fin de roman ( le père de Belle était un célèbre activiste noir, premier afro-américain diplômé de Harvard qui voit d’un très mauvais œil le passing de sa fille)
C’est mon premier livre de cette auteure. Vous la connaissez? Un livre à conseiller?
#passing #onedroprule#tropnoirpouretreblanctropblancpouretrenoir
#jpmorgan #morganlibrary #titanic #incunable #histoirevraie #segregation #newyork
#bellegreene
#alexandralapierre @alexandra_lapierre_
#editionspocket @editions_pocket
#editionsflammarion @flammarionlivres
#book #livre #livres #bookstagram #livrestagram #livreaddict #bookaddict #ilovebooks #lirecestlavie #read
#marsaufeminin : 1e lecture
Le roman s’ouvre sur une lettre choc: nous sommes en 1943, une jeune femme demande à son fiancé de se faire castrer et d’accepter qu’elle ait des enfants avec un autre homme.
Pourtant, 45 ans auparavant, la mère et les oncle et tantes de ce fiancé avaient fait le pacte de ne jamais avoir d’enfants.
C’est la règle de l’unique goutte de sang🩸qui conditionne ces faits et qui engendre le « passing » : se faire passer pour blanc. Après des années de métissage (entendons ici: viols, sur des générations, des femmes noires par leur propriétaire blanc), certains afro-américain à la peau clair se déclarent blancs sous peine de lourdes peines de prisons, voire l’exécution.
C’est l’histoire vraie de Belle Greener du quartier noir de Washington qui deviendra Belle Da Costa Greene, issue d’une famille aristocratique hollando-portugaise et la femme la mieux payée des États Unis.
C’est aussi l’histoire de la Morgan Library, bibliothèque personnel d’un puissant financier américain, propriétaire du Titanic. En effet Belle en sera la bibliothécaire et en fera une bibliothèque riche en ouvrages uniques et précieux accessible à tous.
Un livre très intéressant mais à mes yeux, l’histoire de la bibliothèque a pris trop d’importance sur l’histoire du passing.
Et j’aurais préféré que la rivalité père fille prenne plus de place plutôt qu’un chapitre en fin de roman ( le père de Belle était un célèbre activiste noir, premier afro-américain diplômé de Harvard qui voit d’un très mauvais œil le passing de sa fille)
C’est mon premier livre de cette auteure. Vous la connaissez? Un livre à conseiller?
#passing #onedroprule#tropnoirpouretreblanctropblancpouretrenoir
#jpmorgan #morganlibrary #titanic #incunable #histoirevraie #segregation #newyork
#bellegreene
#alexandralapierre @alexandra_lapierre_
#editionspocket @editions_pocket
#editionsflammarion @flammarionlivres
#book #livre #livres #bookstagram #livrestagram #livreaddict #bookaddict #ilovebooks #lirecestlavie #read
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