'What I would give,' I thought, 'to have been present as Elizabeth Keckley measured Mary Lincoln for a new gown, to overhear their conversations on topics significant and ordinary, to observe the Lincoln White House from such an intimate perspective.' — Jennifer Chiaverini Copy Share Image
“Who said you had to fill his shoes?" said Karen. "Wear your own shoes. They're bound to fit better. Walk your own path your… — Jennifer Chiaverini Copy Share Image
“Her greatest legacy could not be measured in garments or in words, but in the wisdom she had imparted, in the lives made better… — Jennifer Chiaverini Copy Share Image
“The union of their shared lives could be a masterpiece, even if the colors of one piece clashed with another, even if uneven stitches… — Jennifer Chiaverini Copy Share Image
Marvelously entertaining, Gabrielle Donnellys The Little Women Letters evokes the spirit of Louisa May Alcotts Little Women with warmth and affection. I thoroughly enjoyed… — Jennifer Chiaverini Copy Share Image
“Upon reflection, Henry found it difficult to disagree with Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune and frequent critic of the Lincoln administration,… — Jennifer Chiaverini Copy Share Image
Sometimes the most ordinary things are the ones we learn to miss the most. — Jennifer Chiaverini Copy Share Image
Mary Lincoln provided Elizabeth Keckley with opportunities for social and economic advancement she probably had never imagined during her years as a slave, while… — Jennifer Chiaverini Copy Share Image
Ignorant people, whispering cruel rumors, her mother whispered. Pay them no mind. — Jennifer Chiaverini Copy Share Image
“of her husband’s cabinet, who had their own ideas for the president’s social calendar. The worst conflict, and the most upsetting for Mrs. Lincoln,… — Jennifer Chiaverini Copy Share Image
“It’s painful to be the one not chosen,” she murmured to Father Ryan, watching the younger pair. “Even when you acknowledge, deep down, that… — Jennifer Chiaverini Copy Share Image
“All people—white and colored, slave and free, Union and Confederate—shared a common humanity belied by their outward differences. In a time of discord, in… — Jennifer Chiaverini Copy Share Image
