Behind the scenes, : or, thirty years a slave, and four years in the White House

Resource Information

The work Behind the scenes, : or, thirty years a slave, and four years in the White House represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham Libraries. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

Behind the scenes, : or, thirty years a slave, and four years in the White House

Title remainder

or, thirty years a slave, and four years in the White House

Statement of responsibility

Elizabeth Keckley ; introduction and notes by William L. Andrews

Creator

• Keckley, Elizabeth, approximately 1818-1907

Contributor

• Andrews, William L., 1946-

Subject

• African American women -- United States -- Biography
• American Civil War and Reconstruction (18611877)
• Biography
• Biography & non-fiction prose
• Biography: general
• Ethnic studies
• History of the Americas
• Keckley, Elizabeth, approximately 1818-1907
• Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
• Lincoln, Mary Todd, 1818-1882
• Slavery & abolition of slavery
• Slaves -- United States -- Biography
• United States of America, USA
• Women slaves -- United States -- Biography
• 19th century, c 1800 to c 1899

Genre

• Biography

Language

eng

Summary

This fascinating autobiography describes one woman's life as a slave and subsequently her four years in Lincoln's White House during the Civil War.

Member of

• Penguin classics

Biography type

autobiography

Cataloging source

StDuBDS

Dewey number

• 306.362092
• 306.3'62'092#
• 306.362092

Index

no index present

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography

Series statement

Penguin classics

Summary expansion

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