Showing results by author "Kate Chopin" in All Categories

In A Respectable Woman, Mrs. Baroda, the wife of a wealthy sugar plantation owner plays hostess to Mr. Gouvernail, a friend of her husband's. The reserved Mr. Gouvernail is a puzzle to Mrs. Baroda who is nonetheless intrigued by the man's retiring nature. When the two speak to each other outside one evening, Mrs. Baroda wants to get closer to her guest but realizes this would be at odds with her position as a respectable woman.

In Beyond the Bayou, La Folle, an ex-slave, lives on an island cut off from the her old home and is afraid to venture back onto the bayou. When a small drought dries up the shallow waters between her home and the bayou, she spends some time with the son of her former master. When the son, whom she calls “Cheri” accidentally shoots himself in the leg, La Folle must overcome her fear of the unknown and go back to the bayou to alert his parents.

Kate Chopin, one of the great literary writers of 19th-century American fiction, was a woman ahead of her time. From the early 1890s, Chopin was writing short stories, articles, and translations which appeared in periodicals and magazines regionally based in St. Louis - she was perceived as a "local color" writer, but her literary qualities were discounted. Volume 1 includes the following short stories: "Beyond The Bayou"; "Ma'Ame Pelagie"; "Desiree's Baby"; "A Respectable Woman"; "The Kiss"; "A Pair of Silk Stockings"; "The Locket"; and "A Reflection".

A young Confederate soldier is given a solid gold locket before he heads to war. He and the woman who gave it to him are passionately in love and long for the time when they can be together. The locket is noticed by some of the other soldiers and plays an important part in what transpires as battle looms over their camp.

A blind man shuffles along a busy neighborhood street attempting to sell pencils to residents and people passing by. The blazing sun and too many layers of clothing don't appear to hamper his persistence. What occurs in this story illustrates American writer Kate Chopin's use of irony and the element of luck in all our lives.

Randall and Dorothea are young and passionately in love and plan to marry. When Randall has to leave Dorothea for a short period, the two spend their time exchanging a flurry of letters and can hardly bear being separated. Randall's scheduled returned is delayed when he becomes severely ill. What happens when the now sickly Randall is finally able to see Dorothea again says much about the differences between love, lust and passion, and the vagaries of youth.

A woman is visiting a friend who travels widely, and he offers her a package of Egyptian cigarettes he received as a gift while in Cairo. The package has never been opened and has no print of any kind to indicate a brand, its origin, or its ingredients. The woman decides to try one of the cigarettes in the man's private smoking room. Her experience when she smokes one of the cigarettes shakes her to her core.

There is an old saying, "You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone." The main character in this short story had never had children, so she had no idea what it was like to live with or without them. That is, until she is pressed into service to care for a neighbor's children while the real mother made an emergency trip to help her extended family. She was so unprepared for it, but it is the aftermath of their leaving that clearly demonstrates the true essence of regret.

An atmospheric tale in which a lady receives a box of six hand-made Egyptian cigarettes in a mysterious package. When she smokes the first one, she is immediately transported into a strange and disturbing vision of herself, abandoned alone in the desert, in which she feels the acute sensations of love, loss, grief and suicidal despair. An eight minute emotional rollercoaster.

When Mademoiselle Aurelie's neighbour appears and asks her to take care of her four children in an emergency, she accepts the challenge very reluctantly. Mademoiselle Aurelie knows nothing about children and cares even less for them. But over the following weeks, the children become a part of her life... until the day when their mother reappears to reclaim them.

Over 10 hours of riveting stories by some of the world’s greatest short-story writers.

Tales of the Unexpected is a collection of timeless short stories, which surprise and engage with a twist. This audiobook features the classic tales "The Story of an Hour", by Kate Chopin; "The Gift of the Magi", by O. Henry; "Miss Bril", by Katherine Mansfield; "A Horseman in the Sky" and "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge", by Ambrose Bierce; and "The Necklace", by Guy de Maupassant.

Mary Wilkins Freeman's "The Southwest Chamber" and "Shadows on the Wall", Gertrude Atherton's "The Bell in the Fog", Charlotte Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper", Kate Chopin's "Her Letters", and Madalene Yale Wynne's "The Little Room" comprise this eerie collection.

Kate Chopin (1850 - 1904) was a US. author of French and Irish descent famous for her short stories and novels set in Louisiana. A Pair of Silk Stockings is the tale of a frazzled housewife and mother, Mrs. Sommers, who has come into a small fortune of $15. She plans selflessly to spend it on clothes and shoes for her children, but when she sets out on her shopping trip she is seduced by a pair of beautiful soft silk stockings and embarks on an intoxicating spending spree for her own personal pleasure.

A collection of 40 classic short stories which carry a huge punch, from the great classic authors: Oscar Wilde, Saki, Kate Chopin, Edgar Allan Poe, O. Henry, Banjo Paterson, W. W. Jacobs, Guy de Maupassant and many more great names. Look forward to the train being delayed, friends turning up late, walking the dog round the block, ironing that shirt... 10-minute slots need never be wasted time again!

A collection of 11 classic short stories by authors including Kate Chopin, Saki, Katherine Mansfield, James Joyce, and Thomas Hardy.

As the title suggests, this is a collection wonderful classic short stories with a twist at the end!

The Modern Library edition of The Awakening has an introduction by Kay Gibbons, who writes: “The Awakening shocked turn-of-the-century readers with its forthright treatment of sex and suicide. Departing from literary convention, Kate Chopin failed to condemn her heroine’s desire for an affair with the son of a Louisiana resort owner, whom she meets on vacation. The power of sensuality, the delusion of ecstatic love, and the solitude that accompanies the trappings of middle- and upper-class life are the themes of this now-classic novel.” – As Kay Gibbons points out, Chopin “was ...

Art and life. Each the mirror of the other. This then is the classic definition of what ‘Realism’ as a writing form really is. Some might call it a fancy term for the mundane day to day pursuits but in the hands of an author it comes alive. We are drawn into characters and landscapes that we can empathize with, we can, metaphorically speaking, help shoulder their burden, be on the long trail with them whatever the landscapes, the hurdles, incidents and other people may place in their literary way.

Kate Chopin was born in Louisiana in 1850, and established her life there as a groundbreaking author, as her work subject included radical-for-the-time-ideas, such as feminism, race, and social change. Her notable and important works include but are not limited to Beyond the Bayou and The Story of an Hour. Her reach was vast for her time, as among her publications was a story featured in Vogue, and she was largely regarded as one of the best authors of her time.