Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Keckly: The Remarkable Story of the Friendship Between a First Lady and a Former Slave

Rating:
Summary: Who Was Really in Control of Her Life?
Review: Compelling portrait of the changing status of women during the 19th century in America. Elizabeth Keckly's story of coming up from slavery and enduring emotional and physical hardships is shocking in it's matter of fact presentation. Somehow, her dignity brings to sharp focus the inhumanity of slavery and clearly shows the untenable situation the mistress' of the house also had to indure. Her ultimate success as a business woman and friend of Mary Lincoln is heartwarming and natural.

Mary Lincoln's parallel story, in contrast, begins in a rich, cultivated, "safe" home, leads to a highly public "successful" match, and yet ends in maddness. The troubling effects of untreated illness and too many deaths in her life are devastating, and have forever changed my outlook on this much maligned former first lady.

To our sensibilities, she was a victim of the social and intellectual view of a "proper" woman's place in 19th century society. Lizzy's ultimate successes were hard won, but as a former slave she, ironically, was given more freedom from society's constraints than Mary. The very things that Lizzy could do that made her "respectable" would have been considered a huge step down for Mary.

I loved every moment of this book. I didn't want it to end. Its portrait of a time in our history is beautifully realized and has given me new respect for the women of the Civil War era. If you're interested in women's history, American history, or biographies this is a must have.

Rating:
Summary: Who Was Really in Control of Her Life?
Review: Compelling portrait of the changing status of women during the 19th century in America. Elizabeth Keckly's story of coming up from slavery and enduring emotional and physical hardships is shocking in it's matter of fact presentation. Somehow, her dignity brings to sharp focus the inhumanity of slavery and clearly shows the untenable situation the mistress' of the house also had to indure. Her ultimate success as a business woman and friend of Mary Lincoln is heartwarming and natural.

Mary Lincoln's parallel story, in contrast, begins in a rich, cultivated, "safe" home, leads to a highly public "successful" match, and yet ends in maddness. The troubling effects of untreated illness and too many deaths in her life are devastating, and have forever changed my outlook on this much maligned former first lady.

To our sensibilities, she was a victim of the social and intellectual view of a "proper" woman's place in 19th century society. Lizzy's ultimate successes were hard won, but as a former slave she, ironically, was given more freedom from society's constraints than Mary. The very things that Lizzy could do that made her "respectable" would have been considered a huge step down for Mary.

I loved every moment of this book. I didn't want it to end. Its portrait of a time in our history is beautifully realized and has given me new respect for the women of the Civil War era. If you're interested in women's history, American history, or biographies this is a must have.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but needs more detail!
Review: I did enjoy reading "Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. Keckly: The Remarkable Story of the Friendship Between a First Lady and a Former Slave." It rates a 3 out of 5 stars for me because of the lack of depth, particularly in the latter part of the book.

Like most people, all I had really heard about Mary Lincoln was that she had emotional issues and ended up being committed by her own son. This is true, and the book does a good job of relating the childhood events that warped the young Mary Todd.

Lizzy Keckly, the slave who buys her freedom and becomes Washington DC's leading "modiste", is a fascinating personage who well deserves the attention the book gives her life. I found the description of Lizzy's life in slavery to be very powerful. In particular, the passage where her master hires someone to "break her" made my stomach turn and the barbarity of slavery struck home anew.

The beginning of the book starts out strong. The chapters alternate between the lives of the two ladies. After Mary marries Lincoln, however, I feel the book loses steam. I craved more description not only of their lives but of the historic events that surrounded them. Maybe my perception of this book was hurt by having just finished David McCullough's masterful "John Adams", which is lavish in detail. Maybe there just isn't enough evidence out there about Mary and Lizzy's lives after they hit middle age. (I'm willing to buy that about Lizzy, but about Mary? It seems unlikely.) At any rate, by the time you hit the last few chapters, it seems as if the author is hurrying to finish up and I think it ends abruptly.

Rating:
Summary: two biographies in one!
Review: Superbly written biography of TWO women in history. I learned more about Mary Lincoln in this book than maybe I wanted to but she was an interesting one. Author paints two life portraits and blends them artfully. If you are a First Lady buff, civil war buff or women's history reader then you won't want to miss out on this one.