The best pieces of historical fiction offer new-to-us stories, relevant context and fresh insights into personalities. (The worst merely throws facts and human figures into stereotypical plotlines.) The Personal Librarian succeeds as an eye-opening novel on several levels. It's not just a compelling tale: it's based on real life. And the social issue at its core is still very much with us today.

This is the story of Belle da Costa Greene (1879-1950), who spends most of her professional life working for the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City. She is hired as a cataloguer by none other than financial mogul J.P. Morgan himself, in 1905. He intends to create the finest and most unique collection of valuable manuscripts, books and artwork on the planet -- no matter what it costs. Now Belle gets the chance to handle rare treasures every day. And as time goes by, her role expands to becoming a key assistant and a confidante to her boss, and to even act as his representative at important auctions and estate sales, throughout the Northeast and also in Europe.

When Morgan passes away in 1913, his son Jack assumes authority in the library, and he keeps Belle on. She becomes the director of the Morgan. Her name and her good reputation are now firmly entrenched in New York society, as well as in international art and literary circles. She has become an expert in her own right. She is an example of a librarian success story (if ever we librarians are in need of one).

And yet: Belle is also successful at keeping quiet the most sizable of personal secrets. Her roots are with the middle-class African-American family she grew up with, in Washington, D.C. She's "colored," as they say, although she is fair-skinned enough to pass as white. Claiming a bit of Portuguese ancestry is a way for her and her family to advance without questions. With the prevalence of Jim Crow laws and racism in early 20th-century America, Belle and the Greenes are actually sort of stuck. What are the ramifications for any of them if the truth ever surfaces?

Book lovers, art aficionados and anyone who has been to the Morgan will be interested in Belle's story. It's fun to recognize the titles of some of the monumental purchases that are made for the library during this time. We also learn of Belle's interactions with other well-known individuals of the era, and especially of her liaisons with Renaissance art expert Bernard Berenson. He seems to be harboring his own secrets, too.

And of course, underlying everything is the issue of race and racism. With the turn of every page, we have to wonder: Will Belle be found out this time? When we read even more broadly, we can ask: How often do WE present ourselves as something other than who we really are, under the surface?

Be sure to read the concluding section of historical notes and acknowledgments that were provided by the two authors. Here you'll discover another level to this book: the tale of how a duo of American women writers -- one white, one black -- came together to write it. I am kind of surprised that they didn't include a section of discussion questions at the end. Surely readers will want to talk about this one! It WAS chosen as the July 2021 pick for the Good Morning America Book Club, so this publicity may automatically generate such supporting material. Even if the readers have to do it themselves.

The Personal Librarian is a great introduction to someone whose accomplishments were previously unknown to many of us. And yes, it should prompt valuable discussion. It has prompted me to seek out the biography by Heidi Ardizzone, An Illuminated Life: Belle da Costa Greene's Journey from Prejudice to Privilege (W.W. Norton, 2007). It turns out that this novel served as a mere appetizer to Belle. Now I'm ready for the full course.