Sewing With Nancy

Today's Nancy's Corner guest is no stranger to our show. Usually, she sits in the chair next to me to introduce us to her newest book in her "Elm Creek Quilt" series. Today, she'll present us with synopsis from her first historical novel outside the Elm Creek series called "Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker." Please welcome back, Jennifer Chiaverini a prolific author and a great person to tell us about an historical item that everyone's interested in right now. Well, that's true. Everyone is always interested in the life of Mr. Lincoln. The heroine of this book was a real-life woman. She had incredible insight into the Lincoln White House that historians and scholars find fascinating, even to this day. And her name is Elizabeth. That's right, her name is Elizabeth Keckley. She was born in 1818 in Virginia as a slave. She was a very, very skilled seamstress however and as the years went by and she followed one owner to another owner traveling around the South, she made her way to St. Louis where her owner finally said that, yes she could earn enough money to buy her own freedom. So with her skill and with her needle she earned enough money to purchase her freedom and that of her son. It gives me goose bumps! Oh, it's tremendously fascinating. I first discovered Elizabeth when I was researching some of my other Elm Creek Quilts novels. Her story just fascinated me. She had such strong will and such talent. She made her way to Washington, DC where she became first the dressmaker to Mrs. Jefferson Davis and then later, she became the dressmaker for Mary Lincoln. I have to say, I haven't read this yet. I'm adding that caveat, because I just received this book. You researched this in many different places. That's right. I always start with my research at the Wisconsin Historical Society which is a wonderful resource a treasure trove of history and achieves. It's very, very close to where I live. But I also relied upon Elizabeth Keckley's own words. In 1868, she published a memoir talking about her life as a slave and how she earned her freedom. But also, giving away a lot of secrets about her years living in the Lincoln White House. These day, we expect everyone to turn out a tell-all book but in 1868, not so. Unfortunately, this did damage the relationship that Elizabeth and Mary Lincoln shared for so many years. When times were good, Lizzy and Mrs. Lincoln-- It was after the assassination and the later on she did, by mail, some dressmaking. That's true. But Elizabeth was more than just her dressmaker. She was also her close friend and confidant. Oh, sure. You might have heard that Mary Lincoln was a little bit difficult to get along with at times. Elizabeth was able to not only tolerate her but also in some ways, bring out the better side of Mary Lincoln in many occasions. Elizabeth was there to see Mary Lincoln through the many tragedies she faced while she was in the White House. The death of a child, the death of her husband, and several scandals. When Mrs. Lincoln left the White House upon Mr. Lincoln's assassination Elizabeth went with her and lived with her for a time in Illinois before returning to Washington to continue her dressmaking business. As you said, their friendship continued through the mail for many years after that until they were reunited later. When she made clothes for Mrs. Lincoln these were not everyday dresses. She did take care of some items like that but what she's most known for and what Mary valued her skills most for was for creating the beautiful gowns that Mary Lincoln wore to balls, and receptions, and inaugurations. As Elizabeth said herself in an interview that she gave to a newspaper when she was in her 80s her hands were the last to touch Mrs. Lincoln before she took the president's arm and was escorted off to some grand occasion. Elizabeth not only sewed her gowns but she fixed her hair and arranged her bouquets and did all of those extra touches, as well. Well, Jennifer, this is a read that I'm looking forward to having very soon. I'm sure those of you who are fans of Jennifer through the Elm Creek series will find this equally as enchanting. I certainly hope so. I loved writing it and doing all the research. I hope my readers enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. With that attitude, I know they will. Thank you for being with us. It was my pleasure. Thank you for joining us on this program of Sewing with Nancy. You can find out more information about Jennifer and her Elm Creek series plus Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker on our website. Go to nancyzieman.com. All things Sewing with Nancy are there. We will definitely direct you in the right direction. If you'd like to re-watch this program you can always re-watch 52 of our shows are online. Just click and watch and join us with social media, as well. As I say with every show, thanks for joining us. Bye for now.