Rachel Gray
Kavanagh's books feature strong young women, like herself, and had much popular appeal among that audience during her lifetime. She lived most of her life in France, caring for her invalid mother, remaining unmarried. 'Rachel Gray' is founded on fact although the author used her imagination to embellish the story. She said that she wished to 'show the intellectual, the educated, the fortunate, that minds which they are apt to slight as narrow, that lives which they pity as moving in the straight and gloomy paths of mediocrity, are often blessed and graced beyond the usual lot, with those lovely aspirations towards better deeds and immortal things, without which life is indeed a thing of little worth; cold and dull as a sunless day.'
We find Rachel a dressmaker in a poor neighborhood in London, living with her step-mother and two apprentices. Unloved and lonely, she loses herself in contemplation of God, charity and the beauty of life; but her day-dreaming has led to the reputation of being "slow" or "dim-witted" and she is despised by all, except Richard Jones, the father of one of the apprentices. Rather than being one of the millions of anonymous poor, Rachel Gray proves herself to be one of those whom heaven smiles upon. ( Lynne Thompson)
Genre(s): Published 1800 -1900
Language: English
Section | Chapter | Reader | Time |
---|---|---|---|
Play 01 | Chapter I | Lynne T |
00:19:06 |
Play 02 | Chapter II | Lynne T |
00:16:52 |
Play 03 | Chapter III | Lynne T |
00:18:25 |
Play 04 | Chapter IV | Lynne T |
00:17:34 |
Play 05 | Chapter V | Lynne T |
00:18:33 |
Play 06 | Chapter VI | Lynne T |
00:21:51 |
Play 07 | Chapter VII | Lynne T |
00:18:09 |
Play 08 | Chapter VIII | Lynne T |
00:09:00 |
Play 09 | Chapter IX | Lynne T |
00:08:34 |
Play 10 | Chapter X | Lynne T |
00:18:48 |
Play 11 | Chapter XI | Lynne T |
00:26:19 |
Play 12 | Chapter XII | Lynne T |
00:13:07 |
Play 13 | Chapter XIII | Lynne T |
00:11:16 |
Play 14 | Chapter XIV | Lynne T |
00:10:16 |
Play 15 | Chapter XV | Lynne T |
00:13:15 |
Play 16 | Chapter XVI | Lynne T |
00:12:43 |
Play 17 | Chapter XVII | Lynne T |
00:13:54 |
Play 18 | Chapter XVIII | Lynne T |
00:08:35 |
Play 19 | Chapter XIX | Lynne T |
00:12:58 |
Play 20 | Chapter XX | Lynne T |
00:10:44 |
Play 21 | Chapter XXI | Lynne T |
00:09:57 |
Play 22 | Chapter XXII | Lynne T |
00:07:51 |