Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker

This is a remarkable novel written about a remarkable woman by a remarkable author. Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley was a staunch, stalwart ex-slave who by virture of her great sewing skills rose to prominance as the modiste (dressmaker) to Mary Todd Lincoln sharing her life and confidences during our Lincoln/Civil War years.This was, for me, a fascinating and enlightening read. Mrs. Lincoln, through Keckley's eyes via the knowledgeable Chiaverini was not the maligned "mad" widow of Abraham Lincoln, but a much villified, misunderstood, grief-sticken woman who fought for her dignity despite the ill fortunes of disease that descimated three of her sons and the selfishness of assasins, the misunderstandings of "bad" press, and the betrayals of so-called friends..and did it all with the help of Keckley, her most cherished friend during her White House years.Chiaverini depicts both women as real, not fictious, characters in this historical, cum documentary novel. It is a great read and is an even better literary experience when coupled with Keckley's own work,  Behind The Scenes . This is an apropos entry into the realm of fiction for the anniversay of Lincoln's birthday on February 12th, the Oscar nomination of "Lincoln" for Best Picture, and the celebration of Black History Month.If you don't read anything else this year, read this novel. It is an amazingly remarkable eye-opener!This review was written by June J. McInerney, a Literary Blogger and author of "The Basset Chronicles".

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker is a very informative read for historical fiction fans with much detail about the Civil war. This is the story of Elizabeth Keckley, a former Negro slave, who purchased her freedom and her son's for twelve hundred dollars by using her skills as a seamstress. She was fortunate to be literate because it was illegal for slaves to read and write, but her former slave owners did not forbid their slaves to learn. Mrs. Keckley was a strong and modest woman who displayed so much compassion.The story begins in 1860 and Abraham Lincoln has just been elected the sixteenth President of the United States. Mary Todd Lincoln, the new First Lady, has a fine taste for fashion and hires Elizabeth Keckley as her dressmaker and the story unfolds.The Washington elite begin to snub Mrs. Lincoln and she becomes increasingly lonely. Elizabeth is very sympathetic to the First Lady and soon she becomes Mrs. Lincoln's confidante and her only true friend. Mary Todd Lincoln begins spending money with unrestrained delight by refurbishing the White House. As necessary as the purchases seem, there is a war going on and many soldiers are going without tents or blankets and it just doesn't seem right for the First Lady to be spending money on furnishings on the White House. She is determined to transform the White House into a showplace even though the congressional allowance would not stretch far enough to cover it all.Meanwhile, Mrs. Keckley is becoming the best-known dressmaker in Washington becoming popular with all the Union women. The dressmaker has the utmost respect for the President. She has never known another man with such nobility of soul and greatness of heart, but she wonders why Mrs. Lincoln can not see these qualities in the President. He does not always receive the much needed affection from his wife. Also, Mrs. Keckley does not approve of all the spending and the debts Mrs. Lincoln is contracting, but she would never allow anyone to disparage Mrs. Lincoln in her presence --- she remained her best and kindest friend.And the story continues through many tragedies, including the death of Willie, the son of the President and Mrs. Lincoln, and the assassination of the President. I recommend that you take time to read this book with many revealing insights about this period of history. You won't be disappointed.One negative comment - I found the last few chapters to drag on and my interest waned a bit. I wanted to give it five stars, but for this reason I gave it four.

Reading now very fascinating during civil war and the Lincoln family and the dressmaker. She was exceptionally talented and very caring person.

As others have said, it is somewhat of a dry read. I was very interested in Mrs. Lincoln's personality and the relationship between her and Mrs. Keckley, but something was lacking in the telling of this story. The book seemed to suggest that Mrs. Keckley's motives were always nothing but the best. I think at the end, with the clothes-for-sale scandal, one realizes that Mrs. Keckley was promoting her own interests as well. So let's not try to portray her as entirely self-sacrificing . It appears, however, that she was a successful woman in her time to be admired for her accomplishments. The story also shows that she couldn't entirely lift herself up out of poverty and discrimination as at the end she had a lot of financial struggles and diminishing successes. It would appear that so much time spent trying to sell Mrs. Lincolns clothes, and, thereby earn more income for herself, attributed to much of her downfall in terms of her success as a modiste.Historical fiction is just that - historical fiction, so we never really know exactly what the true story is. But this was an interesting glimpse into the relationship and does make one wonder.

Buen producto y a tiempo, gracias

Book was recommended to me and I cannot wait to read it.

Jennifer Chiaverini is normally my favorite author but this book seriously disappointed me. It was heavy on history and rather depressing. It took me a long time to get through it. I LOVE her Elm Creek novels and usually read them in two days or so.

A well written and researched book, mainly fiction with some historical facts threading through it. It has put a completely different light on the abolition of slavery, a personal account of the times, I had not realised what a difficult time it was in America during the Civil War, this book puts it over quite well. Whilst I am used to the Elm Creek stories written by Jennifer, this made a very different read.I have enjoyed it.

A lovely read.