
Mrs. Kennedy spends her days crawling through the grimy stairwells of a Harlem tenement, scrubbing, sweeping, and polishing in exchange for a roof over her head. The relentless grind leaves her thin and weary, yet she meets each new task with a quiet determination that borders on heroic. Even the smallest comforts—a cup of tea or a brief chat with the corner grocer—offer her brief respite from the endless labor.
At the heart of her struggle is Angelica, her only daughter, whose exacting tastes and quiet demands push Mrs. Kennedy to stretch herself even thinner. The bond between them is both tender and demanding, as the mother strives to provide a semblance of stability and a glimpse of something better beyond their cramped, windowless rooms. As night falls and the building settles, the two women navigate a world of scarcity, hope, and the simple, stubborn love that keeps them moving forward.
Language
en
Duration
~7 hours (454K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
United States: George H. Doran, 1921.
Credits
Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images available at The Internet Archive)
Release date
2022-08-21
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
1889–1955
Best known for bringing a sharp psychological edge to mystery fiction, this American novelist moved from writing popular romantic novels in the 1920s to suspense and crime stories after the 1929 market crash. Her work is often remembered for ordinary people under pressure and for a cool, observant style that helped shape domestic suspense.
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