A Harlem Renaissance novel, today largely forgotten, from Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes is best known for his poetry, and w/ good reason as he was one of the foundational poets of the Harlem Renaissance, but he wrote in many genres, including fiction and nonfiction, though I think his novels are less well known today. Friend Frank P. recommended to me one I'd never even heard of, Tambourines to Glory (1958 - so definitely one of the last pieces Hughes wrote; he died in the early 60s), and I'm finding the novel thoughtful, funny, and with a bit of an edge as well. In essence, the plot of this short novel involves two women, Essie and Laura, both rooming in a Harlem apartment complex known as the Rabbit Warren or just the Rabbit (the apartments have, illegally, been chopped up into a maze of single-room rental units) in what seems to be the late 1940s. Both women are living on welfare. Laura is the younger, and is far more attractive and leads a louche life - with many boyfriends and man-friends in and out of her apartment at all hours and with a serious problem with alcohol and gambling; Essie is older, less attractive, quite overweight, missing her adult daughter who lives in Va., and a devout Christian. Commiserating about their poverty one night, Laura gets the bright idea that they could hold impromptu revival meetings on a Harlem street corner and pass the hat and rake in a lot of $ - Essie has a beautiful voice for gospel songs, and Laura's a born orator. Their church becomes a big success, but it highlights the differences between the two women: Essie argues to put the earnings back into the church; Laura wants to spend it all on drink and on the #s. The novel depends heavily on dialog, and we can see Hughes's dramatic ability there - this novel could easily be adapted for stage; the repartee is at times hilarious and always revealing about the personalities of the women. It's particularly important that Hughes does not condescend to these women, not to his readership: Many will find the two women, especially Laura to be morally repulsive - living off welfare, cynically preying on the faith of others, using the church collections for their own benefit - yet also quite lovable and sympathetic, as they're warm-hearted, loyal to each other, funny, and passionate. Though the novel focuses exclusively on the two protagonists, the first 1/3 of the novel sets up some potential plot developments, including a likely rivalry w/ a much larger and well-established Harlem church, whose pastor has his own ethical baggage to carry.