There is a lot to like in the history of this accomplished woman who became the personal librarian to J.P. Morgan, and perhaps more importantly, the force behind the donation of that library to New York City. Marie Benedict (a pseudonym as it turns out for Heather Terrell) has written, with a co-author, Victoria Christopher Murray, the story of Bella Da Costa Greene, a light-skinned black woman who, despite all the odds against it, becomes a famous professional whose work is acclaimed across the globe.
And so the set-up is a great one, the story has much to offer but our group felt (with some exceptions) that the story itself was tediously told and the most difficult part, passing as white, was not a major factor in the plot. It was however, clear that the choice to invent a Portuguese heritage came with a huge emotional cost - she was not only completely cut off from her family, she refused to marry or have children. The risk was too high, she wrote, because her children might expose her true heritage through their own skin tone. That is pretty hard to imagine.
I was surprised to see the range of historic topics this author had taken on, including Hedy Lamarr who between movies was a ground-breaking inventor with significant contributions to the WWII efforts, Agatha Christie's unexplained disappearance in 1928, and the story of Winston Churchill's wife Clementine. The co-author, Victoria Christopher Murray, has been largely overlooked but is herself the author of more than 30 books, most geared to the African-American Christian audience.
We are lucky to be going back to Gabby's for our next meeting, as she says the roses will be out! Yeah! Our next book is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Gramus, which has garnered a lot of buzz in the literary press. The date is May 8, at 6:30. See you there!
