Behind the Scenes: Or Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House

Behind the Scenes: or Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House was first published in 1868 and is considered one of the most candid and poignant slave narratives. Behind the Scenes traces Elizabeth Keckleys life from her enslavement in Virginia and North Carolina to her time as seamstress to Mary Todd Lincoln in the White House during Abraham Lincolns administration. Keckleys first 30 years were spent as a slave and the cruelties and injustices of her life are related clearly and succinctly. This enlightening memoir recounts how she was beaten and how she became a dressmaker to support her master and his family how determined she was to purchase freedom for herself and her son how her friends in St. Louis came to her aid how she became Mary Todd Lincolns dressmaker and close friend and her perspectives and experiences from her inside view of Lincolns White House. Keckley emerges as a calm and confident person who speaks of a very tumultuous period of American history.