Behind the Scenes

or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877), Biography & Memoir, Historical
Cover of the book Behind the Scenes by Elizabeth Keckley, Penguin Publishing Group
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Author: Elizabeth Keckley ISBN: 9781101007327
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group Publication: July 26, 2005
Imprint: Penguin Classics Language: English
Author: Elizabeth Keckley
ISBN: 9781101007327
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication: July 26, 2005
Imprint: Penguin Classics
Language: English

Originally published in 1868—when it was attacked as an “indecent book” authored by a “traitorous eavesdropper”—Behind the Scenes is the story of Elizabeth Keckley, who began her life as a slave and became a privileged witness to the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Keckley bought her freedom at the age of thirty-seven and set up a successful dressmaking business in Washington, D.C. She became modiste to Mary Todd Lincoln and in time her friend and confidante, a relationship that continued after Lincoln’s assassination. In documenting that friendship—often using the First Lady’s own letters—Behind the Scenes fuses the slave narrative with the political memoir. It remains extraordinary for its poignancy, candor, and historical perspective.

  • First time in Penguin Classics
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Originally published in 1868—when it was attacked as an “indecent book” authored by a “traitorous eavesdropper”—Behind the Scenes is the story of Elizabeth Keckley, who began her life as a slave and became a privileged witness to the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Keckley bought her freedom at the age of thirty-seven and set up a successful dressmaking business in Washington, D.C. She became modiste to Mary Todd Lincoln and in time her friend and confidante, a relationship that continued after Lincoln’s assassination. In documenting that friendship—often using the First Lady’s own letters—Behind the Scenes fuses the slave narrative with the political memoir. It remains extraordinary for its poignancy, candor, and historical perspective.

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