Behind the Scenes: Formerly a slave, but more recently modiste, and friend to Mrs. Lincoln; or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House - Softcover

Keckley, Elizabeth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0252070208 ISBN 13: 9780252070204

Publisher: University of Illinois Press, 2001

Synopsis

Born into slavery, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley rose to a position of respect as a talented dressmaker and designer to the political elite of Washington, DC, and a confidante of First Lady, Mary Todd Lincoln. This memoir offers a behind-the-scenes view of the formal and informal networks that African Americans established among themselves.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Only a few years later, however, that relationship was in ruins, when this 1868 book created a scandal. Intended by Keckley to rehabilitate the reputation of the former First Lady--who had run up extensive debts on clothing and other luxuries while in the White House, and found herself unable to repay them after the President's assassination--the book was perceived instead as a betrayal of friendship.

Perhaps one of the first examples of celebrity gossip publishing gone awry, Behind the Scenes does, nevertheless, offer an insider perspective on the Lincoln White House that will intrigue armchair historians and fans of biography alike.

About the Author:

Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0252070208
• ISBN 13: 9780252070204
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 344