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

Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley

Behind the Scenes: or Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House by Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley was a slave narrative published in 1868. Keckley was enslaved as a child that came with sexual advances and harsh physically labor. She purchased her freedom along with her son and enter the world as an entrepreneur to becoming a successful seamstress. Because of her outstanding work, she opened a successful dressmaking business in Washington D.C.

Her talents caught the eye of First Lady Mary Tood Lincoln, and she became her personal seamstress. A friendship blossomed and after the assassination of President Lincoln, Keckley became her confidante and caregiver due to her mental instability. During publication, the Lincoln family protested to remove her book and excommunicate her from society believing that she was “airing out their dirty laundry” regarding her personal feeling towards Lincoln’s views. Keckley’s narrative is an eye opener to the windows of slavery and the brutality behind it following her thoughts on Lincoln relationship towards slavery. Her courage and perseverance were the driving force to lead her to living this life that was unheard of during that time.