Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini was my book club's pick for this month. 

Elizabeth Keckley was a very interesting historical figure. Born a slave, Keckley bought her freedom and moved to Washington, DC to work as a seamstress. She eventually sewed gowns for the elite of DC and had patrons that ranged the gamut from Varina Davis, the wife of Jefferson Davis to Mary Todd Lincoln when she was the First Lady. After President Lincoln was assassinated, Keckley remained in the service of Mrs. Lincoln until Keckley tried to raise some funds to support herself by writing a memoir called Behind the Scenes, or, Thirty years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House. You can find the entirety of Behind the Scenes online for free.  This memoir created a schism between Keckley and Lincoln. 

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker is a fictional account of Keckley's life. It's also boring as hell. 

Consider the following passage from Behind the Scenes:

General McClellan, when made Commander-in-Chief was the idol of the soldiers, and never was a general more universally popular. "He is a humbug," remarked Mrs. Lincoln one day in my presence.

"What makes you think so, mother?" good-naturedly inquired the President.

"Because he talks so much and does so little. If I had the power I would very soon take off his head, and put some energetic man in his place."

"But I regard McClellan as a patriot and an able soldier. He has been much embarrassed. The troopes are raw, and the subordinate officers are inclined to be rebellious. There are too many politicians in the army with solider-straps. McClellan is young and popular, and they are jealous of him. They will kill him off if they can." (page 132-133)

This is interesting. It tells us about what's going on with the war, Mrs. Lincoln's own high opinion of herself, a bit about the relationship between the Lincolns, and how much trust Keckley must have had to be in the room when such a conversation happened.

Compare that to the following passage from Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker:

In mid-September, in a costly battle along Antietam Creek in Maryland, General McClellan managed to repulse General Lee's advance into the North. Although the president was displeased that General McClellan had allowed the battered Confederate army to withdraw to Virginia without pursuit, the stalemate was victory enough to hearten him. (page 110)

Can you see me nodding off here as I was reading some weird history book focused on battle recaps and military strategy? 

Thumbs down for me, folks. Read Behind the Scenes and skip this fictionalized nonsense. 2/5 stars

Notes from book club:

Yep, this book is boring. 

Things I looked up:

mantua (page 2) - article of women's clothing

 A Keckley dress that Mary Todd Lincoln wore. You can see this gown at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in the First Ladies exhibit. 

osnaburg cloth (page 7) - Sturdy, plain-woven cotton fabric used frequently for work clothes or patterns for garments made of more expensive fabrics

The Great Skedaddle (page 63) - In July 1861, the first major battle of the American Civil War. It was a bit of a disaster and led to the Union soldiers fleeing in a disorganized retreat. 

Thanksgiving as a federal holiday (page 152) - Lincoln was the first president to declare Thanksgiving a federal holiday in 1863. Here I am thinking it's been around since the country was founded because we talk about Pilgrims constantly in elementary school. Education is a sham. (/s)

Hannibal Hamlin/Andrew Johnson (page 171) - Lincoln's first VP was Hamlin. I didn't know this guy existed. Johnson was his VP for his second term and Johnson showed up drunk to his own inauguration and is probably one of the worst presidents in American history. 

Mary Todd Lincoln was a spendthrift (page 173) - Mrs. Lincoln had a bit of a shopping addiction.  True facts from history.

barouche (page 188) - four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage with a collapsible hood over the rear half

Barouche. Source.

cynosure (page 201) - a person or thing who is the center of attention or admiration (AKA Zelda the Cat)

catafalque (page 229) - a raised box, bier, or similar platform, often movable, that is used to support the casket, coffin, or body of a dead person during a Christain funeral or memorial service. The Lincoln catafalque was hastily in 1865 and has been used since for all those who have laid in state in the Capitol Rotunda. 

Lincoln catafalque

Lines of note:

A dignified silence was often the best response to spiteful gossip - but that was not Mrs. Lincoln's way. (page 77)

So many disses of Mary Todd Lincoln in this book. It seems to me that Mary Todd's legacy could stand to be reexamined in light of all we know about mental illness today.  

Elizabeth believed that a student who surpassed her would indeed be a fine legacy - more previous and enduring and gratifying than all the beautiful gowns she had made for the ladies of Washington City, even those she had made for the First Lady of the land. (page 187)

But she'd be super happy to know that her dresses are on displays in museums to this day, wouldn't she? 

Hat mentions:

Eight mentions by my count, which is less than I might have imagined since President Lincoln's hat is such a big part of his lingering aesthetic. 

She arranged with Reverend Daniel Payne, one of the college's founders and a witness to her pension statement, to loan some of her Lincoln relics - Mr. Lincoln's hat, cloak, gloves, comb, and brush, as well as Mrs. Lincoln's bonnet and blood-spattered cloak - for an exhibition that would tour Europe. (page 302)