Books and More: the Personal Librarian- author, Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray

A walk into a world that has long since been filed into the past has presented a vivid and descriptive story. Belle, the gifted art historian, has strength and grace with strong ties to family and its history that has been intentionally and carefully tucked into the past. As a woman in the early1900’s, she has managed to obtain an education, a competitive career to which she is passionately connected, a rising salary to help support her and her family while protecting a secret her mother initiated to benefit Belle and her siblings. ‘Passing’ for white and living with the privilege that it entails has brought with it a life filled with the constant threat of being discovered.