Like One of the Family by Alice Childress

Like One of the Family by Alice Childress

A new edition of Alice Childress's classic novel about African American domestic workers, featuring a foreword by Roxane Gay

First published in Paul Robeson's newspaper, Freedom, and composed of a series of conversations between Mildred, a black domestic, and her friend Marge, Like One of the Family is a wry, incisive portrait of working women in Harlem in the 1950's. Rippling with satire and humor, Mildred's outspoken accounts vividly capture her white employers' complacency and condescension--and their startled reactions to a maid who speaks her mind and refuses to exchange dignity for pay.

Upon publication the book sparked a critique of working conditions, laying the groundwork for the contemporary domestic worker movement. Although she was critically praised, Childress's uncompromising politics and unflinching depictions of racism, classism, and sexism relegated her to the fringe of American literature. Like One of the Family has been long overlooked, but this new edition, featuring a foreword by best-selling author Roxane Gay, will introduce Childress to a new generation.

Alice Childress (1916--1994) was a playwright, novelist, and actress. Among her best-known plays are Trouble in Mind (1955), Wedding Band (1966), and Wine in the Wilderness (1969). She was the first African American woman to have a play professionally produced in New York City and the first woman to win an Obie Award for Best Play. She is also the author of A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich, a young-adult novel that was also made into a film.

Kathy A. Perkins is a Professor of Theatre at the University of Illinois. She is the editor of Black Female Playwrights: An Anthology of Plays before 1950, Black South African Women: An Anthology of Plays, and African Women Playwrights. She is co-editor of Contemporary Plays by Women of Color and Strange Fruit: Plays on Lynching by American Women. She has been an award-winning lighting designer for productions throughout the United States, Europe, and South Africa.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780807009031
ISBN 10	0807009032
Title	Like One of the Family
Author	Alice Childress
Series	Black Women Writers Series
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Beacon Press (MA)
Year published	1986-10-31
Number of pages	268
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.