Behind the Scenes, or Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House
This memoir was written by Elizabeth Keckley, a woman who purchased freedom for herself and her son before the Civil War, and who went on to become modiste and confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln. Over the last several years I've done quite a bit of reading about the Lincolns and am now working on a story about Mary that includes a scene or two with Elizabeth, so reading this autobiography seemed like a natural move.
As it turns out, it was a bonanza, because Elizabeth Keckley is one of the primary sources on Mary Todd Lincoln. Her memoir includes conversations recorded nearly word for word with her employer. It includes transcriptions of correspondence between them. And it includes Elizabeth's own observations about Mary's character, her habits and her manner. What a brilliant tool for capturing voice and perspective!
It's also--and just as importantly--a fascinating account of Elizabeth's own life, her experiences as a slave and then as an independent business woman in Washington D.C. before, during and after the Civil War. She was acquainted with some of the major abolisionists of the time including Frederick Douglass, who is mentioned several times. Some of her story bears the hallmarks of the classic slave narrative of the period, though Elizabeth's is more a tale of progress. Some of it is harrowing, some of it is perfectly mundane--the troubles of being seamstress to a temperamental and demanding client, the stress of a bad marriage, and so on. She writes vividly and candidly; she's excellent company for a couple of evenings' worth of reading.
I read this memoir first and foremost as research for the project I'm working on, but it's well worth reading in its own right. Keckley's account of the night that President Lincoln was shot is remarkable in its relation of the confusion and grief that held sway over the city. Her own emotions and observations about his death are familiar; one can't help feeling empathy.
It's amazing stuff, and makes history feel so close. It wasn't that long ago, only thirty years before my great grandparents came to the US. And it made me wish I could sit down and talk with her. She was an impressive lady indeed.
As it turns out, it was a bonanza, because Elizabeth Keckley is one of the primary sources on Mary Todd Lincoln. Her memoir includes conversations recorded nearly word for word with her employer. It includes transcriptions of correspondence between them. And it includes Elizabeth's own observations about Mary's character, her habits and her manner. What a brilliant tool for capturing voice and perspective!
It's also--and just as importantly--a fascinating account of Elizabeth's own life, her experiences as a slave and then as an independent business woman in Washington D.C. before, during and after the Civil War. She was acquainted with some of the major abolisionists of the time including Frederick Douglass, who is mentioned several times. Some of her story bears the hallmarks of the classic slave narrative of the period, though Elizabeth's is more a tale of progress. Some of it is harrowing, some of it is perfectly mundane--the troubles of being seamstress to a temperamental and demanding client, the stress of a bad marriage, and so on. She writes vividly and candidly; she's excellent company for a couple of evenings' worth of reading.
I read this memoir first and foremost as research for the project I'm working on, but it's well worth reading in its own right. Keckley's account of the night that President Lincoln was shot is remarkable in its relation of the confusion and grief that held sway over the city. Her own emotions and observations about his death are familiar; one can't help feeling empathy.
It's amazing stuff, and makes history feel so close. It wasn't that long ago, only thirty years before my great grandparents came to the US. And it made me wish I could sit down and talk with her. She was an impressive lady indeed.