An Illuminated Life
Belle da Costa Greene's Journey from Prejudice to Privilege

Only 1/2 way though, but I need to return to library (what would I do without the library? Oh yes, I'd be poor and have books instead of tables, chairs, etc.). Update: This is a magnificent biography, beautifully capturing the class and emotional struggles of this complex woman living in a dynamic er......more

Belle da Costa Greene worked briefly in the library at Princeton University before becoming personal librarian to J.P. Morgan and spending the next few decades writing massive checks at rare book auctions. She was drinking buddies with actress Sarah Bernhardt, painted in the nude by Matisse, and tau......more

I first learned about Belle da Costa Greene when I read The Personal Librarian, a fictionalized account of her life. When a woman is this fascinating and intriguing and charts a path of her own that defies convention, I almost always prefer a biography. This was a compelling account of Greene - a wo......more

DNF at 52%. I've checked this out from the library literally four times now and still haven't finished it, I think I can safely put it down, hah. It's possible I'll come back to it at some point, but given the depth and length of the book (which could've easily been cut down and been just as or argu......more

A fascinating biography, rich in anecdote and richly contextualized, illuminating a deliberately enigmatic and elusive subject. I knew Belle da Costa Greene's name, and something (only a fraction, as the book revealed) of her legacy, because of my own identity as a medievalist. Ardizzone's biography......more