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Kate Chopin (1850-1904) was an American novelist and short story writer who is being increasingly recognized as a forerunner to the feminist authors of the twentieth century. Chopin wrote short stories which were published in such magazines as «Atlantic Monthly», «Vogue», and «The Century Magazine», as well as two novels. Her stories were typically set in Louisiana, particularly New Orleans, and reflected her experiences there during her marriage when her husband allowed her to act unconventionally, smoking and going about unescorted. In her early novel, «At Fault», Chopin is just starting to delve into the psychology of her characters – a skill that she would hone and garner praise for later. It is an intensely focused story about propriety, love, the realities of marriage, and recovery from the Civil War. Chopin's literary career was sparked by the publication of «At Fault», and readers have consistently enjoyed her rich regional descriptions and depictions of fiercely independent women.

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Kate Chopin (1850-1904) was an American writer of novels and short stories. She is now considered to have been a forerunner of the feminist literature of the 20th century. Throughout her career, Chopin gained inspiration from a trip to the South in Louisiana and much of her fiction was set there. She valued its vague, less structured and more sensual atmosphere. Although she was pigeonholed as a regional writer, she wanted badly to reach a national audience. She tried to consign with her collection of Creole stories and finally succeeded with «Lilacs and Other Stories». «Lilacs» is the tale of a worldly Parisian actress, Adrienne Farival, who inspired every spring by the scent of the first lilac blossom, visits the convent where she spent her youth to find one day, she is banished forever. This collection includes 23 other distinctive tales of Southern Life including «Beyond the Bayou,» a story of a middle-aged black woman named La Folle who lives on an abandoned field next to the bayou from which she has never ventured to the lands beyond her home.

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“The Awakening” is the story of Edna Pontellier, an attractive young wife and the mother of two sons living in the Creole south in the late 19th century. Edna feels herself trapped in a marriage where she is unable to express her passionate sensuality and as a result explores a spiritual and sexual awakening through an affair with a younger man during one summer while her husband is away. Liberated by this experience she sends her children away and is determined to live a more independent and self-determined life. This behavior would lead to her downfall as it was not seen favorably by the members of her conservative 19th century southern community. “The Awakening” is a landmark modernist work which illustrates the confines of late 19th century America for women and the beginning of an era of changing social attitudes towards their role in society. The liberal portrayal of Edna in “The Awakening” was meet with great criticism when it was first published and essentially ended Chopin’s literary career. The reaction to its publication is indicative of the social attitude towards increasing freedom for women during this era. At the same time the novel was a harbinger of the greater independence that was soon to come for women in America. This edition also contains a collection of seventeen of Chopin’s most popular short stories.

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'Introducing this release of The Awakening has given me an opportunity to re-experience one of my life's important books . . . I still marvel at Chopin's realism, her impatience with conventional trappings, her arresting honesty' BARBARA KINGSOLVER
'Incisive, brilliant and haunting' MAGGIE O'FARRELL
Over one long, languid summer Edna Pontellier, fettered by marriage and motherhood, becomes acquainted with Robert Lebrun. As the days shorten and the temperature drops Edna succumbs to Robert's devotion. But as her desire grows so too does her discontentment – with the role society has forced her to play and with the bonds that hold her fast – and her world begins to unravel with devastating consequences…
The Awakening is widely regarded as one of the forerunners of feminist literature alongside Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Flaubert's Madame Bovary. First published in the United States in 1899, this radical novel sent shockwaves through American society and continues to speak to readers over a hundred years later. This tender, brilliant, and seductive novel is as beautifully written as it is politically engaging.

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This comprehensive eBook presents the complete works or all the significant works – the Œuvre – of this famous and brilliant writer in one ebook – easy-to-read and easy-to-navigate: • The Awakening, and Selected Short Stories • At Fault • Bayou Folk

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The Awakening , originally titled A Solitary Soul, is a novel by Kate Chopin, first published in 1899. Set in New Orleans and on the Louisiana Gulf coast at the end of the 19th century, the plot centers on Edna Pontellier and her struggle to reconcile her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century American South. It is one of the earliest American novels that focuses on women's issues without condescension. It is also widely seen as a landmark work of early feminism, generating a mixed reaction from contemporary readers and critics. The novel's blend of realistic narrative, incisive social commentary, and psycho¬logical complexity makes The Awakening a precursor of American modernist literature; it prefigures the works of American novelists such as William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway and echoes the works of contemporaries such as Edith Wharton and Henry James. It can also be considered among the first Southern works in a tradition that would culminate with the modern master¬pieces of Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty, Katherine Anne Porter, and Tennessee Williams.

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The Awakening and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin libreka classics – These are classics of literary history, reissued and made available to a wide audience. Immerse yourself in well-known and popular titles!

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Kate Chopin’s “A Reflection” is a reflection on the fortunes of life. It is a meditation on how some people succeed by harnessing their energy effectively while others get left behind.

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In “The Locket”, a confederate soldier declines his fellow soldiers’ request to reveal the contents of the locket around his neck. The locket, which holds pictures of his fiancée’s parents and the date of their wedding is found on the battlefield after a battle. Later, the soldier’s fiancée visits the battlefield with the soldier’s father, both shaken with grief. The soldier’s father asks his son’s fiancée to remove her veil, as it contrasts too sharply with the beautiful day and adds that on such a day miracles seem ready to happen. Returning home, something extraordinary happens to make her believe he may be right.

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In «A Pair of Silk Stockings», Mrs. Sommers, a once wealthy woman who has fallen on hard times comes into possession of a small fortune of $15. Planning to spend the money on clothing for her children, she becomes sidetracked at a shop counter, entranced by the smoothness of a pair of silk stockings. She goes on to spend the money on the stockings as well as new boots and gloves for herself. In succumbing to “mechanical impulses that direct her action”, Mrs. Sommers resembles Edna Pontellier, the heroine of Kate Chopin’s later masterpiece The Awakening. First published in Vogue in 1897.

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