as for little ava, she bravely accepts her coming death and would gladly give up her life if that leads to the emancipation of the millions of americans enslaved black people. together, tom and ava formed a bond that offers lessons even today about tolerance and decency. unfortunately, these were lost in the stage versions of uncle tom's cabin. stowe's novel was the most popular and longest running play in american history. first appeared in 1852 and countless others followed. by the 1890s, there were hundreds of acting troupes panning out across north america putting on uncle tom's cabin, and many across the city english and american went out as far as india, australia, china, and as you remember from the king and i, siam. the play was seen by more people who read the book, although the book itself remained extremely pop paw harriet -- popular, and in 1895 the most popular books were viable and uncle tom's cabin, and it kept up a very, very steady presence. the play was seen regularly until about the 1950s and then spue ratically after that there was recently a wonderful staging done b