So boring!!! I just didn't enjoy this at all. The writing was fine, but I was mostly just bored. Elizabeth is a very cardboard character that didn't seem to have a lot of personality. I felt like I got to know more about the Lincoln's and the Civil War than I did the main character. This really was just a book about Mrs. Lincoln and Elizabeth was a background character telling a story about Mrs. Lincoln, which is fine, but wasn't very interesting. Had I not been reading this for a book club I most definitely wouldn't have finished it. This was a phenomenal book that make the story of Mary Todd Lincoln's dressmaker and friend (Elizabeth Keckley) come alive. The details were true to historical information on the topics. Keckley was born a slave and bought her freedom and that of her son in her 40's. She then used her exceptional seamstress skills to build a successful business serving Washington DC's elite. Such an inspiring story with lots of hills and valleys. I liked how the book delved so deeply into the experiences of Elizabeth. I thought the story was just in describing Mrs. Lincoln's mood swings and quirks. I didn't know all of the details of the relationship between the two women until reading this book and then reading some additional reference material about it later. It's a fascinating story and the author tells it well. I very much enjoyed this book.
Insightful to life of the first lady of Lincoln. Perpetuated some of the rumors one hears of her.
—Lily
I enjoyed the history behind the book, but the character wasn't terribly believable.
—yoliton
Made me want to read the memoir.
—Demiw
