Some people live such interesting lives. Elizabeth Keckley, slave, was the daughter of white master rape and the victim of the same. Her sewing skills allow her to buy her freedom for herself and her son. She eventually finds her way to D.C. where she sews for Mrs. Jefferson Davis and Mary Todd Lincoln and many others. When the Civil war begins, Keckley develops an even closer relationship with Mrs. Lincoln and the President. This relationship continues even after the assassination which is when the story becomes even more interesting. Chiaverini sticks pretty closely to the strange story of what happens to Mary Todd Lincoln when she is left on her own although there are many version of this history to choose from. The fact that Keckley ends up living in the Home for Destitute Colored Women and Children after having founded the Contraband Relief Association to help former slaves relocating in D.C., written a highly controversial memoir of her life with the Lincoln's, and served on the faculty of Wilberforce College is a testament to the struggle between an individual's courage and the forces of the world around them. This is an unusual lens to use to examine the war years, the affects of slavery, and the Lincolns. The war years of the book are a bit of a slog but help give context to the rest of Elizabeth's compelling story.
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