<p>"Behind the Scenes" is both a slave narrative and a portrait of the First Family, especially Mary Todd Lincoln, and is considered controversial for breaking privacy about them. It was also her claim as a businesswoman to be part of the new mixed-race, middle-class that was visible among the leadership of the black community.<br>Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley (1818 ? 1907) was a former slave who became a successful seamstress, civil activist, and auth...