• By Sue deGuzman
• Posted Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Women of Influence: Belle da Costa Greene (“The Personal Librarian”) and Katharine Smith Reynolds

Join us at the Lewisville Branch on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. to take part in a Forsyth County Public Library’s “On the Same Page” community read event. This will be a discussion of the major themes found in “The Personal Librarian” by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray with comparisons made between the main character, Belle da Costa Greene (J. P. Morgan's personal librarian), and Katharine Smith Reynolds, creator of Reynolda House and Estate and wife of tobacco tycoon R. J. Reynolds.

Bari Helms, Director of Archives and Library at Reynolda House Museum of American Art, will discuss themes about the role of women in the Gilded Age, social rules and expectations, women in business, reform work, and the movement for women's suffrage. In addition, the themes of racism and segregation will be explored with comparisons made to the life of Greene and the experiences of the Black women who worked at Reynolda.

Registration is encouraged. To register or for more information, email Sue at deguzmse@forsyth.cc or call the Lewisville Branch at 336-703-2940.

Women of Influence: Belle da Costa Greene (“The Personal Librarian”) and Katharine Smith Reynolds
Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m.
Lewisville Branch Library auditorium

Photo above: Katharine Smith Reynolds, Paris 1905, printed with permission from Reynolda House Museum of American Art.

All Forsyth County Public Library programs are free and open to the public. Click here for driving directions.