rogerman904a49

I bought this book when I went to the Lincoln Museum and home in Springfield, IL. I picked it up because - as you might be able to tell - I'm very interested in women's side of history. This was written by Elizabeth Keckley, a former slave and the dressmaker and confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln. It is part slave narrative, and partly a history of the Lincoln family. Keckley's stories of her time in slavery are upsetting, and there is a great deal she left out which I'm sure were important in her history. She had a husband she never writes about, and has a son by a white man which she plainly says she won't write about. She was an extremely skilled dressmaker, and this helped her work her way out of slavery. One of her customers who appreciates her loans her money to buy herself and her son. She repays the loan in full. She also writes lovingly of her former slave masters, which isn't what one expects when reading a slave narrative. She even visits them years later while she is free, and writes of how well they treat her as a guest. Her motive for writing this book was in part, clearly monetary, which might account for the many unflattering things she writes about Mary Todd. She knows it will cause a stir. I feel for Mary Todd in this matter, because someone she considered a friend published her letters which she wanted kept confidential. At the same time, Keckley puts a great deal of effort into helping Mary Todd after her husband dies by helping her sell her fine dresses. The venture was a failure, and Keckley lost a portion of her income by doing Mary this favor. I'm glad I found this book. I wish the book had more about Keckley herself and less about the Lincolns, but Keckley clearly didn't want certain things going down in history. I'd reccomend this to anyone interested in African American Lit, Lincoln, or women's history.

2023-06-21 02:32