Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker

Elizabeth Keckley was fashion designer to the stars, back when the stars were Varina Davis (that's Mrs. Jefferson Davis to you) and Mary Todd Lincoln (a lady who needs no further introduction). She designed and sewed every stitch of their wardrobes - and those of many other leading ladies, as well - becoming their friend and confidante along the way. She nursed the Lincoln boys when they were in poor health, and Abraham Lincoln addressed her by name. Eventually, short on cash and with a misplaced devotion to her dearest patron, Mrs. Lincoln, she wrote a memoir, Behind the Scenes. All of this, after she spent the first thirty-odd years of her life as a slave.

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, by Jennifer Chiaverini, is the fictional telling of Mrs. Keckley's life, focused especially on her years inside the Lincoln White House. Elizabeth Keckley is fascinating to read about and Chiaverini paints a vivid portrait of the relationship between the loyal Keckley and the unstable Mrs. Lincoln. For reasons that I can't place my finger on, though, I didn't love this book. The historical research is outstanding - the recounting of the raid on Alexandria echoes the story as it's told in 1861: The Civil War Awakening as do numerous other passages - but there was just something intangible missing. Normally, I give stars (if I'm inclined to give any formal rating at all), but I feel a grade is more fitting today, and the grade I'd give this book is a B-.

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