MRS. LINCOLNS DRESSMAKER

so many times I’d started to check this book out from our local Library,imagine my surprise when I came across it on the clearance table at our Barns-N-Nobel's book store, it’s been a while since I’ve really enjoyed reading a book, really reading it & absorbing every page, not only do you enter into the life of Elizabeth Kecley but the lives of Mary &president Lincoln, I love sewing & I love History, this book came through with both

(Internet source)

In Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker, novelist Jennifer Chiaverini presents a stunning account of the friendship that blossomed between Mary Todd Lincoln and her seamstress, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Keckley, a former slave who gained her professional reputation in Washington, D.C. by outfitting the city’s elite. Keckley made history by sewing for First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln within the White House, a trusted witness to many private moments between the President and his wife, two of the most compelling figures in American history.
In March 1861, Mrs. Lincoln chose Keckley from among a number of applicants to be her personal “modiste,” responsible not only for creating the First Lady’s gowns, but also for dressing Mrs. Lincoln in the beautiful attire Keckley had fashioned. The relationship between the two women quickly evolved, as Keckley was drawn into the intimate life of the Lincoln family, supporting Mary Todd Lincoln in the loss of first her son, and then her husband to the assassination that stunned the nation and the world.
Keckley saved scraps from the dozens of gowns she made for Mrs. Lincoln, eventually piecing together a tribute known as the Mary Todd Lincoln Quilt. She also saved memories, which she fashioned into a book, Behind the Scenes: Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House. Upon its publication, Keckley’s memoir created a scandal that compelled Mary Todd Lincoln to sever all ties with her, but in the decades since, Keckley’s story has languished in the archives. In this impeccably researched, engrossing novel, Chiaverini brings history to life in rich, moving style.(less)

read more about the author here:

http://jenniferchiaverini.com/books/coming-january-15-2013-mrs.-lincolns-dressmaker

more about Elizabeth Keckley:

http://www.biography.com/#!/people/elizabeth-keckley-9361611

she went on to write a book entitled behind the scenes

http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/keckley/summary.html

http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/keckley/keckley.html

(internet source)

A vibrant social history set against the backdrop of the Antebellum south and the Civil War that recreates the lives and friendship of two exceptional women: First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln and her mulatto dressmaker, Elizabeth Keckly.

now that I’ve read Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, these two books are a must for my Library of my many many beloved books!

I am linking this book to

 

I did my 1st review!!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15808287-mrs-lincoln-s-dressmaker

what are you reading??????