
RACHEL
A modest flat in a northern city provides an intimate stage for this early‑twentieth‑century drama. The living room is rendered in careful detail—green walls, white woodwork, a well‑worn piano, and a bustling sewing machine that hints at the household’s modest means. At its heart sit Mary Loving, a widowed mother, and her spirited daughter Rachel, whose entrance bursts the room with youthful energy and a stack of books and music.
Spanning three acts, the play follows the family across a decade, marking the passage of time with subtle shifts in the characters’ lives. As Rachel’s exuberance meets her mother’s quiet perseverance, the story explores themes of hope, responsibility, and the bonds that hold a household together. Friendly dialogue and vivid domestic scenes invite listeners to share in the everyday triumphs and worries of a close‑knit family navigating a changing world.
Language
en
Duration
~2 hours (145K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Mary Glenn Krause, Susan Carr and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by the Library of Congress)
Release date
Apr 19, 2021
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1880–1958
A pioneering Black poet and playwright, she used quiet lyricism and sharp moral force to confront racism, grief, and longing. Her best-known play, Rachel, helped open a path for later Harlem Renaissance writers.
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