![]() Although it begins as a slave narrative, revealing in a matter-of-fact way the horrors Keckly had to endure until her thirties when she bought her own freedom – including familial separation, cruel owners, brutal beatings, rape and ensuing pregnancy – the narrative shifts focus and form halfway through and becomes the story of a successful businesswoman with unparalleled insight into the lives of the highest-ranking political couple in the land: President and Mrs Lincoln. (Whilst her published name is ‘Keckley’, ‘Keckly’ is the spelling she used in the rest of her life). But Keckly’s autobiography stands out for several reasons. We have seen some of these accounts already in Ten-Minute Book Club so far. By 1868, when Behind the Scenes was published, readers were familiar with the genre of the slave narrative, which gave vital and moving eyewitness accounts of the atrocities of slavery and helped to fuel the abolition movement. ![]()
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