Behind the Scenes: Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the Lincoln White House

By Elizabeth Keckley

From slavery to the White House

In her riveting memoir, Elizabeth Keckley (1818–1907) takes us behind the scenes of her amazing story, set against some of the most dramatic elements of American history. Following the arc of Keckley’s eventful life, which began in slavery and saw her become dressmaker to the First Lady, her book’s unique vantage point illustrates the country’s violent transition from the slave era to emancipation.

Born a slave in Dinwiddie, Virginia, Keckley describes the cruelties that tortured her body but failed to break her spirit. Sent with her master’s family to Missouri, she became a skilled dressmaker whose designs were in high demand. In 1855, with loans from her clientele, Keckley secured freedom for herself and her son. By 1860, she had her own business in Washington, D.C. After Mrs. Lincoln wore Keckley’s “rose-colored moire-antique” dress to the inauguration, Keckley became the First Lady’s “modiste” (maker of fashionable dresses and hats).

Keckley had a rare viewpoint on the workings of the White House. She witnessed first-hand the effects of the Lincolns’ son Willie’s death and the president’s assassination, and became Mrs. Lincoln’s confidante. Although Keckley greatly admired President Lincoln, her self-portrait of Mrs. Lincoln was more complex. In some of the book’s most illuminating and then-controversial passages, Keckley writes with intimate detail about her relationship with the First Lady, including much of their deeply personal correspondence.

Dramatic, revealing, and historically compelling, Behind the Scenes is a moving portrait of an extraordinary woman at a remarkable time in history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fall River Press
• Release date: Dec 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781435157934

Elizabeth Keckley

Elizabeth Keckley (1818–1907) was a formerly enslaved woman who used her skills as a seamstress to purchase her own freedom. Born in Virginia, she was owned by a local planter and later, his daughter. Despite her status, Elizabeth was recognized for her talent, which she used to support the family. She then raised enough money to buy her freedom and move to Washington D.C. It was there that she started a business, making connections with the political elite, including Mary Todd Lincoln. Later, Keckley would detail the events of her tumultuous life in the autobiography Behind the Scenes (1868).