I, RACHEL

An interpretation- March Cost terms it -- rather than a biography, of the great French tragedian, Rachel. And in the same sense that King of Paris by Guy Endore is fiction, this is fiction. It has terrific impact. The story itself rivals most novels, as she follows the known facts of Rachel's life:- from a hand-to-mouth existence, moving from Germany, across Switzerland to Lyons and finally to Paris, where her theatre dazzled father felt that fortune beckoned. Perhaps it did, but the way was one of determination, vision and grinding toil, of the faith of far-sighted directors and teachers, of daring to be true to the gleam. Rachel was born Elizabeth Felix; the name Rachel was given her by her adored teacher, M. Samson, who was the greatest influence in her life. The theatre is one story; the romances are yet another. Hundreds of lovers were attributed to her; her dying wish to return letters would seem to identify seventeen and the novel capitalizes on perhaps a half dozen. But always one feels that Samson, who was never her lover, was actually the one great romance- and their quarrel the greatest sorrow of her final years. Paris of the mid 19th century comes to life in these pages- and the people of the theatre provide the chorus. Fascinating reading- perhaps at its best in the years when her career was in its making rather than when success is at its peak. A wholly new approach to biographical fiction and an unforgettable story.