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Audiobook edition · 4 h 15 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does courage ask of a young woman when rebellion puts safety and loyalty at odds?
In Rita, Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards places a young heroine against the Cuban rebellion against Spanish rule. A daring escape gives the adventure its pull, while war brings danger close. At its heart is a question: how do you hold to what matters when safety is uncertain?
Richards tells the story with warmth and clarity, keeping courage, loyalty and friendship in view. The historical setting gives the adventure its pressure, but the young heroine gives it a human centre. This is a gentler kind of adventure, where danger matters without leaving moral warmth behind.
What you’ll discover
- A young heroine's courage Follow Rita into an adventure that brings a young woman's bravery into focus.
- Rebellion beyond ordinary life Enter a Cuban setting where the struggle against Spanish rule forms the backdrop to danger.
- Loyalty under pressure Explore the tension between seeking safety and standing by the people who matter.
- Warmth amid the danger Find friendship and an encouraging moral spirit within a story of escape and courage.
- Clear, welcoming storytelling Enjoy Richards's plain, friendly style, with scenes that are easy to picture.
Who will love it
You will enjoy this book if you like spirited heroines, warm comedy, wartime adventure and a story that changes a character from the inside.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Rita turns rebellion into a performance
- Real hunger changes her adventure
- The camp welcomes spirit with limits
- Courage becomes quiet useful work
- Kindness gives Rita another role
- Appearances hide courage and resourcefulness
- Danger strips adventure of its glamour
- Humor makes room for growing understanding
- Real help is humble and practical
Who’s who
- RitaMargarita Montfort, a dramatic young woman of Havana who escapes on the way to a convent and learns what real courage asks of her.
- ManuelaRita's quick-witted maid, devoted and often cross, who hates the camp but rescues a household with her sharp mind.
- Carlos MontfortRita's brother, a Cuban captain with a practical mind who never knows what to do with his wild sister.
- Jack DelmonteCalled Captain Jack, a blue-eyed half-American guerrilla leader who protects Rita and finds himself drawn to her.
- Marm PrudencePrudence Carreno, a Vermont widow in Cuba, who hides rebels, braids hats and gives Rita a home.
- Cousin JimJim Montfort, a bearded giant of a cowboy cousin who leads rough riders and wants to bring Rita to safety.
- Don MiguelMiguel Pietoso, a gentle old agent of the family who loves Rita like a granddaughter and will follow her anywhere.
- General SevilloThe courteous old commander of the mountain camp, who must decide how to keep a young visitor safe.
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Rita
by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards · 1900
A Havana girl who polishes daggers and coaches a parrot to shout for Cuba runs off to join a rebel camp.
Easy read2–5 hours to readEnglish
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In short
What happens when a girl who polishes daggers on her bedroom wall and teaches her parrot to shout for a free Cuba runs away to join a rebel army? Rita, by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards, is a short novel set in spring 1898, in the weeks of the Spanish-American War.
Rita at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 30 min2 h fast, 2 h 55 min slow
- Length
- 35,400 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
- First published
- 1900by Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Three letters set a household at war
The book opens with mail from Havana dated April 30, 1898. Each letter tells the same quarrel in a different voice. Rita's stepmother Maria Concepcion writes to her brother-in-law John in the United States. She calls Rita a fanatic and an impossible girl who plays rebel songs at open windows. She plans to shut her up with the White Sisters in a strict convent.
In her own letters, Rita tells Uncle John she will never go to that convent alive, that she keeps daggers on her wall, and that she even has poison. She writes to her cousin Margaret about her garden of palms and her birds, and the king of them all is Chico, the old parrot.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1900
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 2 h 45 min
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe. Rita. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/rita.
Richards, L. E. H. (2026). Rita. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/rita (Original work published 1900)
Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe. Rita. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/rita.
@book{richards2026rita,
author = {Richards, Laura Elizabeth Howe},
title = {Rita},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/rita},
note = {First published 1900}
}
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What is Rita by Laura E. Richards about?
It follows Rita Montfort, a spirited young woman who escapes on the way to a convent in 1898 and joins the Cuban rebels. She learns nursing, makes friends, and finds that real courage means quiet work, not dramatic speeches.
Who is Chiquito in Rita?
Chiquito, or Chico, is Rita's gray parrot, taught to cry long live free Cuba. He rides on her shoulder through the hills and wins the Cuban soldiers' cheers at the ruined chapel.
When is Rita set and is it a true story?
The story is set in the spring and summer of 1898, around the Spanish-American War in Cuba. The characters are invented, but the war and its hardships are real, as the author's note says.
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