Rachel
Rachel names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Rachel ELIZA RACHEL FÉLIX
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
ELIZA RACHEL FÉLIX, a French actress; born in Mumpf, Switzerland, Feb. 28, 1820; was the daughter of a Jew peddler, and in 1830 went to reside at Paris. Sarah, her elder sister, used to sing at the various cafés. In 1832, the voices of the two sisters having attracted notice, they were placed, by the kindness of some connoisseurs, under Choron, a celebrated singing-master; and in 1833, the younger sister Rachel, having shown great tragic power, entered the Conservatoire at Paris, and in 1838 made her first appearance at the Théâtre Français, in the character of Camille, in "Le Horace," where her début was not auspicious. In the course of a few months Mademoiselle Rachel completely revived the classic school of tragedy which had fallen into decay, though her crowning triumph was gained in 1843, in her representation of "Phèdre." Soon after this she she made a provincial tour, visited the chief European cities, and at last came to London, in 1846, reaping fame and wealth wherever she appeared. In 1855 she made a professional visit to the United States, interrupted by the failure of her health, returned to France, and died of consumption in Cannes, near Toulon, Jan. 3, 1858.
Rachel the second daughter of Laban
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the second daughter of Laban, the dearly beloved of Jacob, who, to obtain her, devoted seven years to the flocks and herds of her father. But, at the end of that period, he found in his veiled bride not Rachel, but Leah, her elder sister, whom he did not love, and was obliged to labor during seven more years in order to gain Rachel. She was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's 1921 outline of both Rachels still largely stands, with small corrections. Most reference works now give the actress's birth as 21 February 1821 rather than Feb. 28, 1820, and place her death on 3 January 1858 at Le Cannet, just above Cannes on the Riviera — not, as Collier's has it, "near Toulon", which lies about 100 miles west; the play in which she debuted as Camille is Corneille's "Horace". For the Rachel of Genesis, the retelling is faithful to the text, but scholarship has moved: the patriarchal narratives are now generally read as literature shaped in the first millennium BC rather than as reportage, and the shrine known as Rachel's Tomb outside Bethlehem — a quiet pilgrimage site in 1921 — is today enclosed in concrete barriers and disputed between Israelis and Palestinians.
Written for this edition, 2026.