Elizabeth Keckley's "Behind the Scenes at the Lincoln White House

[Gene C]

Interesting book written by Ms Keckley who was Mrs Lincolns' dress maker at the White House and who for several years was her best friend. It is about 156 pages, originally written in1868, has a bit of colorfull victorian verbage. Mine is a soft cover edition that cost $8

Ms. Keckley was the same age as Mrs. Lincoln. Earlier in her life she was born into slavery, but purchased her and her only son's freedom by her work as a seamstress. She moved to Washington where she seems to have been treated with respect and made dresses and clothes for several important polititicians wives, including Varina Davis. Ms Keckley claims Mrs Davis tried to get her to come to Richmond just before the Civil War broke out.

Ms Keckley's son died early in the Civil War. Mrs Lincoln likes her work and she makes several dresses for her. She seems to be very industrious and a very giving person. It is Willie's death that seems to draw them closer, so close that she becomes Mrs. Lincoln's closest and best freind (for a time) Ms Keckley writes very fondly of President Lincoln, but does point out how "needy" Mrs. Lincoln is, and you get the impression Mrs. Lincoln thinks the world revolves around herself. About 25% of the book is about Mrs Lincoln trying to sell some of her expensive White House clothing and jewelry in 1867 because she felt destitute. Ms Keckley is very much involved with this, probably much more involved than she wanted to be. She closes down her business in Washington to go to New York to help Mrs. Lincoln. The sale doen't turn out well. Mrs Lincoln goes back to Chicago, Ms Keckley is stuck in NY trying to wrap everything up. She returns to her seamstress work in NY to earn a living and writes this book.

While I did not pick up any vindictive tone, Ms Keckley says many things, quotes letters that do not show Mrs Lincoln in a favorable light. The book and its contents are probably what ended their close relationship. Ms Keckley should have known better, but maybe she did. Mrs Keckley always shows reverence for President Lincoln and always shows him in a favorable way.

Bottom line is....I recommend it. 4 out of 5 stars due to content.
An interesting & different perspective from an active participant and witness in the lives of the Lincolns.

[LincolnMan]

I wonder if she partly wrote the book to survive financially?

[Gene C]

I was thinking the same thing....I kind of got the impression Ms Keckley dropped everything to help Mrs Lincoln out, and afterwords may have felt used or taken advantage of. I can't imagine repeating some of the conversations or publishing some of the corespondence that Mrs Lincoln wrote. Ms. Keckley indicated it was to help clear Mrs Lincolns name in the press. (It didn't work)

At the very best, Ms Keckley showed poor judgement in that regard.
In my opinion, without Mr Lincoln or someone to give Mary the constant attention she needed, you can see her mental condition deteriorating.

Looking back we can understand somewhat. Having to deal with this in real time was certainly a challenge to her family and friends

[LincolnMan]

Gene: agree completely. Thanks for the review of the book.

[Laurie Verge]

I need to check on this again, but for some reason the back of my mind is telling me that the publisher and editor of the book had something to do with making its content a bit "juicier." Our librarian at Surratt House is the expert on Mrs. Keckly.

[Gene C]

From Jason Emerson's "Giant in the Shadows" p.275
(I'm in the middle of reading this and read this passage for the first time last night)

"The publication about his mother that may have annoyed Robert Lincoln more than any other was Elizabeth Keckly's memoir, Behind the Scenes or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House.....The book not only includes the complete story of the Old Clothes Scandal in 1867, in which Keckly played a major role as Mary's confidante, but also prints in full a series of private letters from Mary Lincoln to Keckly."

"Keckly wrote her book, she claimed, to make Mary more understandable and sympathetic to the American public. She also hoped the book proceeds would help her old friend pay off some of her debts. The idea backfired. The book was denounced as scandal and trash and lost Keckly many clients and friends. Part of the public outrage was simply because Keckly was black but also concerned the publication of Mary's private letters. Keckly claimed the professional writer who assisted her with her manuscript added the letters to the book without her consent or knowledge. But it didn't matter. Keckly had violated Victorian codes "not only of friendship and privacy, but of race, gender, and class'....Mary Lincoln was so angry she never spoke to Keckly again. Robert Lincoln - in his high Victorianism, which included a conscious class separation and bias - was infuriated at what he regarded as a betrayal of trust and an indecent exposure of his family's privacy by a mere servant. Reportedly, he complained to the publisher and had the book suppressed: when he encountered Keckly in Washington years later, he was 'so hostile to her that he could not be made to understand her true motive for writing the book'."

[Christine]

I just finished "Mrs Lincoln's Dressmaker" by Jennifer Chiaverini. I had heard about Elizabeth Keckley briefly (mostly from Laurie and others who helped raise funds for her monument), so I really enjoyed the book. However, one complaint I have (I sometimes think I sound like a broken record) while it is billed on the cover as a 'novel' I was frustrated with the lack of resource material. She did cite a few books, but I think when you write a 'novel' about real people, and use real events, the author should cite the source for those 'real' events!

For instance, in the book she said that Mary Lincoln gave Elizabeth many items (among them gloves worn by President Lincoln at his 2nd Inaugeration, the cloak he was wearing the night he was assassinated, etc). I would have liked the author to say whether that was true or not, and reference the source for that information. If it was Mrs. Keckley's book, I would have liked to know that, too.

Am I too picky?

[Laurie Verge]

Everyone keep their fingers crossed, but there is an excellent chance that Ms. Gloria Reuben, the actress who portrayed Mrs. Keckly in the Lincoln movie, will be at Surratt House on May 14 for an invitation-only reception benefitting historic preservation in our county.

[Jim Garrett]

I need to check on this again, but for some reason the back of my mind is telling me that the publisher and editor of the book had something to do with making its content a bit "juicier." Our librarian at Surratt House is the expert on Mrs. Keckly.

Laurie, you are correct. Ms. Keckley trusted her publisher. When she turned in her manuscript to the publisher, she gave him all of her material including all the personal correspondence between her and Mrs. Lincoln. The publisher saw a much greater potential revising the manuscript into what was published with Mrs. Keckley not benefiting from seeing the final manuscript before publication. She was horrified and embarrassed at the book and it did drive a huge wedge in the Keckly/Lincoln relationship.

As some may know, Rich Smyth found Mrs. Keckley's grave in Landover Md a few years back. Rich is on a cruise for the next week, so I have taken the liberty of tooting his horn!

[L Verge]

It's a good horn to toot because he stuck with the project. For years, the cemetery said they couldn't find the records of what happened after Mrs. Keckly's body was removed from Columbian Harmony in D.C. and re-interred in National Harmony Memorial Park in Maryland. They either didn't know where to look or didn't want to.

However, about 4-5 years ago, they got some new, caring personnel; and Rich inquired yet again and immediately received the information right down to section and grave number. He then contacted me, and we convinced the Surratt Society to spearhead the movement to mark her grave. It became a joint effort between the Society, the Lincoln Forum, and the Fairfax, Virginia, chapter of Black Women United for Action. We raised $6000 for a bronze marker, and it was dedicated three years ago this spring. The ceremony received the attention of the Washington Post, and I soon had a phone call from the National Park Service's coordinator for the Trails to Freedom project. She wanted Mrs. Keckly voted into that project. Sandra Walia, our research librarian at the museum, prepared the papers, and it was a done deal!

[RJNorton]

[Jim Garrett]

Mrs. Keckly was known as a very successful seamstress, and her relationship with the Lincoln family. That overshadowed her work as the founder of the Contraband Relief Association.

[Laurie Verge]

An organization that she supported so heavily that she bankrupted herself and ended up dying in one of the Association's homes.

[Donna McCreary]

I just finished "Mrs Lincoln's Dressmaker" by Jennifer Chiaverini. I had heard about Elizabeth Keckley briefly (mostly from Laurie and others who helped raise funds for her monument), so I really enjoyed the book. However, one complaint I have (I sometimes think I sound like a broken record) while it is billed on the cover as a 'novel' I was frustrated with the lack of resource material. She did cite a few books, but I think when you write a 'novel' about real people, and use real events, the author should cite the source for those 'real' events!

For instance, in the book she said that Mary Lincoln gave Elizabeth many items (among them gloves worn by President Lincoln at his 2nd Inaugeration, the cloak he was wearing the night he was assassinated, etc). I would have liked the author to say whether that was true or not, and reference the source for that information. If it was Mrs. Keckley's book, I would have liked to know that, too.

Am I too picky?

If memory serves, several of the items which Mary Lincoln gave to Elizabeth Keckly were later donated to the Chicago Historical Museum.

[RJNorton]

Speaking of museums, has anyone ever visited the Batavia Historical Society?