A life, 1868
Behind the Scenes
or, Thirty years a slave, and Four Years in the White House
Elizabeth Keckley recounts her life from enslavement in Virginia to freedom as a successful dressmaker and confidante of Mary Lincoln.
How it begins
My life has been an eventful one. I was born a slave—was the child of slave parents—therefore I came upon the earth free in God-like thought, but fettered in action.
Chapter 1Keep reading →
About the book
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Text from Project Gutenberg.