author
Elizabeth Keckley
1818–1907
Born into slavery, she used extraordinary skill with a needle to buy freedom for herself and her son, then rose to become Mary Todd Lincoln’s dressmaker and confidante. Her life joined fashion, politics, and hard-won independence in a way that still feels remarkable.
1 Audiobook
Behind the Scenes; or, Thirty years a slave, and Four Years in the White House
by Elizabeth Keckley
About the author
Elizabeth Keckley was born enslaved in Virginia in February 1818 and endured years of forced labor before building a reputation as an exceptionally talented seamstress. After working in St. Louis, she was able to purchase freedom for herself and her son in 1855, a turning point that opened the way to an independent career.
She later moved to Washington, D.C., where her dressmaking business brought her into the highest social circles of the capital. In 1861, Mary Todd Lincoln hired her, and Keckley became not only the first lady’s modiste but also a trusted companion during the Civil War years.
Keckley was also a writer and organizer. In 1868 she published Behind the Scenes: Or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House, a memoir that remains one of the most vivid personal accounts connected to the Lincoln White House, and she was active in relief work for formerly enslaved people and Black Union soldiers' families.