In 1899 Kate Chopin stunned the literary world with thepublication of The Awakening,her tale of a woman who seeks personal fulfillment in a relationship outside ofher tradition-bound marriage and household. Controversial in its day, Chopin'spioneering novel served as a touchstone for many modernist works published inits wake and is regarded a landmark work of feminist literature. Thiscollection of Chopin's fiction features the full novel and a selection of hershort stories steeped in the local colour of her native Louisiana.