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Behind the Scenes
Elizabeth Keckley
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R951
Discovery Miles 9 510
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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Elizabeth Keckley s Behind the Scenes: Or, Thirty Years a Slave and
Four Years in the White House is both a riveting slave narrative
and a fascinating insider s look at the First Family during the
Lincoln administration.
ELIZABETH HOBBS KECKLEY (1818-1907), dressmaker to the elite of
Washington D.C. on the eve of the Civil War, was, remarkably, a
free black woman who'd purchased her emancipation through the
fruits of her own hard work. In 1861, she became the personal
designer to Mary Todd Lincoln, as well as one of the First Lady's
closest confidantes. 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.
Elizabeth Keckley reveals the hardships of slavery and the changing
political climate in Washington amongst the country's most powerful
couple, Abraham and Mary Lincoln. Keckley had unprecedented access,
giving insight into their state during and after the Civil War.
Elizabeth Keckley was born into slavery and experienced a traumatic
upbringing riddled with physical and sexual violence. One attack
resulted in the birth of her son, whom she named George. Elizabeth
was a gifted seamstress who used her skills to save money to buy
her and her son's freedom. She ventured North and started a career
as a dressmaker to influential women in political circles. One of
her most notable clients was Mary Todd Lincoln, with whom she
developed a close friendship. Behind the Scenes is a harrowing
story of one woman's unshakable drive. Despite her limiting
circumstances, Elizabeth Keckley earned her freedom and became a
successful entrepreneur. It's an inspiring tale that provides a
personal account of one of the most volatile times in American
history. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset
manuscript, this edition of Behind the Scenes is both modern and
readable.
Elizabeth Keckley reveals the hardships of slavery and the changing
political climate in Washington amongst the country's most powerful
couple, Abraham and Mary Lincoln. Keckley had unprecedented access,
giving insight into their state during and after the Civil War.
Elizabeth Keckley was born into slavery and experienced a traumatic
upbringing riddled with physical and sexual violence. One attack
resulted in the birth of her son, whom she named George. Elizabeth
was a gifted seamstress who used her skills to save money to buy
her and her son's freedom. She ventured North and started a career
as a dressmaker to influential women in political circles. One of
her most notable clients was Mary Todd Lincoln, with whom she
developed a close friendship. Behind the Scenes is a harrowing
story of one woman's unshakable drive. Despite her limiting
circumstances, Elizabeth Keckley earned her freedom and became a
successful entrepreneur. It's an inspiring tale that provides a
personal account of one of the most volatile times in American
history. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset
manuscript, this edition of Behind the Scenes is both modern and
readable.
"Invaluable...Elizabeth Keckley's memoir of her life as a White House dressmaker for Mary Todd Lincoln...[is a] curious gem"--Eric J. Sundquist in The New York Times Book Review
I HAVE often been asked to write my life, as those who know me know
that it has been an eventful one. At last I have acceded to the
importunities of my friends, and have hastily sketched some of the
striking incidents that go to make up my history. My life, so full
of romance, may sound like a dream to the matter-of-fact reader,
nevertheless everything I have written is strictly true; much has
been omitted, but nothing has been exaggerated. In writing as I
have done, I am well aware that I have invited criticism; but
before the critic judges harshly, let my explanation be carefully
read and weighed. If I have portrayed the dark side of slavery, I
also have painted the bright side. The good that I have said of
human servitude should be thrown into the scales with the evil that
I have said of it. I have kind, true-hearted friends in the South
as well as in the North, and I would not wound those Southern
friends by sweeping condemnation, simply because I was once a
slave. They were not so much responsible for the curse under which
I was born, as the God of nature and the fathers who framed the
Constitution for the United States. The law descended to them, and
it was but natural that they should recognize it, since it
manifestly was their interest to do so. And yet a wrong was
inflicted upon me; a cruel custom deprived me of my liberty, and
since I was robbed of my dearest right, I would not have been human
had I not rebelled against the robbery. God rules the Universe. I
was a feeble instrument in His hands, and through me and the
enslaved millions of my race, one of the problems was solved that
belongs to the great problem of human destiny; and the solution was
developed so gradually that there was no great convulsion of the
harmonies of natural laws. A solemn truth was thrown to the
surface, and what is better still, it was recognized as a truth by
those who give force to moral laws. An act may be wrong, but unless
the ruling power recognizes the wrong, it is useless to hope for a
correction of it. Principles may be right, but they are not
established within an hour. The masses are slow to reason, and each
principle, to acquire moral force, must come to us from the fire of
the crucible; the fire may inflict unjust punishment, but then it
purifies and renders stronger the principle, not in itself, but in
the eyes of those who arrogate judgment to themselves. When the war
of the Revolution established the independence of the American
colonies, an evil was perpetuated, slavery was more firmly
established; and since the evil had been planted, it must pass
through certain stages before it could be eradicated. In fact, we
give but little thought to the plant of evil until it grows to such
monstrous proportions that it overshadows important interests; then
the efforts to destroy it become earnest. As one of the victims of
slavery I drank of the bitter water; but then, since destiny willed
it so, and since I aided in bringing a solemn truth to the surface
as a truth, perhaps I have no right to complain. Here, as in all
things pertaining to life, I can afford to be charitable.
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