Product Description
Five stories from influential women writers from the close of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. It features "The Garden Party" and "Daughters of the Late Colonel" by Mansfield, "Lilacs" and "Ma'ame Pelagie" by Kate Chopin and "A Mark on the Wall" by Virginia Woolf. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Boring, boring boring
I am very sorry I bought this.The stories were painfully executed and boring. I am not so sure what is classic about these stories either. ... Read more

Product Description
A minor masterpiece, The Awakening was a scandalous book when it arrived from the turn-of-the-century presses. With a heroine who found her husband dull, married life dreary and confining, and motherhood to be bondage, this revolutionary book is still relevant to many. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

FAILURE
I read the Cliffs Notes for this book instead of reading the book and I still failed my English Literature Test. Thanks for nothing Cliffs Notes!

I detest Cliff Notes
CLiff Notes....just the thought of them really irks me. Why? Because for one thing...teachers know...real teachers, college professors know when you are plagarizing and when its your own idea. The whole idea of Cliff Notes is for the student to be lazy, not think, and to steal another person's idea. Oh yeah, thats exactly what we want to teach our children. Not only that, if you are lazy enough to use cliff notes, then it will be only that much more obvious to your teacher because they will receive answers from you that you never could answer before. Ok I will admit, when I was a freshman in high school I used Cliff NOtes only because I had a teacher who was a moron. However I didnt get so "lucky" after that. I had english teachers who knew the CLiff Notes and could bust students easily...and now that I am in College I am thankful that I do not rely on Cliff Notes. For one thing, Kate Chopin is one of the best American writers and by not experiencing the depth and the beauty of her stories is just a tragedy. Another thing, college is a whole new ballgame, you get caught plagarizing work and your academic life is over. So for the sake of your future, use your brain.

So-so notes
These are some of the worst cliff notes I have ever come across. The summaries/commentaries are long. This is still a must if you are reading the awakening, but they are not well written for someone who wants a briefsummary of what is going on in this book.

If you do get this book, don'tforget to read the real book, as you are missing out on good literature andcliffs' notes don't cover everything in the original book...

Recommended to lazy people.Easier then the actual book!!
I am really lazy.I had a book report duw in one week and i hadn't even found a book yet.I picked up these cliff notes and I skimmed through them.Now, my English teacher doesn't know any better, and I have a 3.9GPA!!!For all the lazy people out there, don't worry about doing thework, just buy the Cliff Notes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... Read more

Product Description
Kate Chopin's The Awakening is a favorite of feminist critics, who see it as a forerunner of Liberation. This volume gathers together numerous respected critical essays on the novel. Topics discussed include the symbolic use of the sea, literary naturalism, and even Charles Darwin's theory in regards to the novel. This series is edited by Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Yale University; Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Professor of English, New York University Graduate School. These texts are the ideal aid for all students of literature, presenting concise, easy-to-understand biographical, critical, and bibliographical information on a specific literary work. Also provided are multiple sources for book reports and term papers with a wealth of information on literary works, authors, and major characters. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

stunning, sensual, thought provoking
i chose this book for school because it was a short & easy read; i fell in love with it because, like few school books, i could relate so deeply to the main character.Edna Pontellier wakes up from a life in adream and fights for self and independence- a struggle that anyone,especially adolescents, can identify with.I can't emphasize enough howbeautiful and moving Chopin's prose is.Reading it was pure pleasure, andwhen self-realization and introspective thought comes along with that, youknow the book is a winner. ... Read more

Product Description
This Halcyon Classics eBook collection includes both of Kate Chopin's novels, as well as a selection of her short stories:

At Fault
The Awakening
Beyond the Bayou
Ma'ame Pelagie
Desiree's Baby
A Respectable Woman
The Kiss
A Pair of Silk Stockings
The Locket
A Reflection
The Story of An Hour

Includes an active table of contents for easy navigation. ... Read more

Product Description
Savor these enduring stories, as relevant today as when they were first published, from the most influential women authors of the turn-of-the-century--Willa Cather, Kate Chopin, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Edith Wharton. This anthology of complete short fiction represents some of their most significant and enjoyable work. The readers, four professional actors from Northern California, were selected for their unique abilities to portray the characters, the emotions, and the tone of each writer. 4 cassettes. ... Read more

Product Description
In a career that lasted little more than a decade, Kate Chopin became well-known for stories set in the Creole and Acadian regions of Louisiana, but her masterwork, The Awakening (1899), told the daring story of a woman who defied social and sexual conventions, eliciting negative reviews that denied Chopin prominence until the middle of the 20th Century. Kate Chopin: A Literary Life sets the author in the context of 19th Century American women writers to show how standards of literary propriety affected the career of a major American writer. ... Read more

Product Description
Best remembered for The Awakening, which was poorly received by her contemporaries, Chopin also published nearly 100 short stories. Her work is currently praised for its romantic and painterly images and its daring plots and characters.

This title, Kate Chopin, part of Chelsea House Publishers’ Modern Critical Views series, examines the major works of Kate Chopin through full-length critical essays by expert literary critics. In addition, this title features a short biography on Kate Chopin, a chronology of the author’s life, and an introductory essay written by Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Yale University. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

iight
This book of modern critical views provided thought-provoking insight to many, in fact nearly all, of Chopin's literary works, including her many short stories and two novels, the most critically acclaimed being The Awakening.The book helped me to look at Chopin's work with more respect and a totally new perspective and understanding.However, since I have not read all of Chopin's works, some of the analyses were difficult to comprehend, seeing as I had no background for assimulating the information into something coherent.All in all, the novel is a worthwhile read if one is interested in the wonderful works of Kate Chopin. ... Read more

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One of 60 low-priced classic texts published to celebrate Penguin's 60th anniversary. All the titles are extracts from "Penguin Classics" titles. ... Read more

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ReadHowYouWant publishes a wide variety of best selling books in Large and Super Large fonts in partnership with leading publishers. EasyRead books are available in 11pt and 13pt. type. EasyRead Large books are available in 16pt, 16pt Bold, and 18pt Bold type. EasyRead Super Large books are available in 20pt. Bold and 24pt. Bold Type. You choose the format that is right for you.

The central character of the novel is the personification of the urge of freedom and self-acknowledgement in women. To ensure independence and free will for herself, Edna Pontellier experiments with her life. With comparisons of life-styles, approaches to feminism and its manifestations, the novel is an in-depth study of human psychology.

To find more titles in your format, Search in Books using EasyRead and the size of the font that makes reading easier and more enjoyable for you.

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This is nonfiction commentary. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Novels by Kate Chopin, Short Stories by Kate Chopin, Desiree's Baby, the Awakening, the Storm, the Story of an Hour, at the Cadian Ball. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: Désirées Baby is a short story written by American author Kate Chopin about miscegenation in Creole Louisiana during the antebellum period. Désirée is the adopted daughter of Monsieur and Madame Valmondé, who are wealthy Creoles in Louisiana. As a baby, she was discovered by Monsieur Valmondé lying in the shadow of a stone pillar near the Valmondé gateway. She is courted by another wealthy scion of a Creole family, Armand. They appear very devoted to one another and eventually have a child. The people who see the baby get a sense that something is unusual about it. Eventually they realize that the baby's skin is the same color as the quadroon (one-quarter African) nursemaid - the baby is not white. At the time of the story, this would have been considered a terrible taint. Because of Désirées unknown origins, Armand immediately assumes that she is part Black, and after Madame Valmondé suggests that Désirée and the baby return to the Valmondé estate, Armand tells her to leave. Désirée then takes the child and walks off into a bayou where she is never seen again. Armand then proceeds to burn all of Désirées belongings and the childs cradle, as well as all of the letters that she had sent him during their courtship. With this bundle of letters is also one written from his mother to his father, revealing that Armand is in fact the one who is part black. Désirée's race is never definitively determined, although after she is dismissed: "Moreover no longer loved her, because of the unconscious injury she had brought upon his home and his name." Though Kat...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=10458460 ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (8)

A book to keep
This is a great collection at an affordable price. All the stories are classics, but that doesn't mean that they are irrelevant or uninteresting to today's readers.

Some stories deal with women's issues: "A New England Nun" introduces a woman torn between the freedom and tranquility of her single life and the expectation for her to marry; "Smoke" is about a woman who endures domestic abuse year after year and finally finds vindication in unexpected means; "A Jury of Her Peers" offers a subtle but chilling picture of the systematic killing of women's spirit in domestic life, and then a hopeful suggestion of women's strength when they support one another.

Other stories are insightful character studies, sometimes tragic, sometimes satirical, and often revealing about a social problem and the many sacrifices an individual must make to struggle against it. The story "Life in the Iron Mills" is about the poverty, and "Stones of the Village" describes how one person's life could be twisted by racism. However, the stories are much more than a medium for a simple message. They are stories of life, so richly imagined that we feel the characters live on outside of the pages.

I also find the introduction before the story informative. Though brief, it often offers useful information on the story's background. For example, we find out that the author of "The Yellow Wallpaper" has based the story on her own struggle with mental illness, and that "Transcendental Wild Oats" was based on the author's childhood experience with an overzealous Transcendentalist father.

A great find
This book is a great read with many classic writers included. It also has a story by Kate Chopin that was never published after the backlash she received from "The Awakening." It's a great story. I did notice this book had a price on the back of $1.99 and I paid far more on Amazon. Boo!

It's surely worth the read.

Worthy collection
At first I thought I wasn't going to like this collection very much.Not enough contemporary stories, and I am, after all, a lover of contemporary literature.I get discouraged when I read older novels.The language seems too stiff at times.So, I approached this collection with caution.A good example of what I mean about older writing being slightly formal for my taste was the short story we've all had to read in English Lit classes: "The Yellow Wall-Paper", by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.Another example is the opening story, "Life in the Iron-Mills" by Rebecca Harding Davis.After a few pages I just hjad to skip them.

That said, I luckily enjoyed most of the stories quite a bit.I think the editor had very good care in choosing stories that had universal appeal.My favorite is "Transcendental Wild Oats", by Louisa May Alcott.I know more than a "nothing-but-organic" zealot who should read this one.I found it amazing that Alcott, back in the late 1800s, was able to offer such accurate criticism of the ridiculous views that some take on behalf of misguided ideals and very few facts.

Another story I enjoyed was "A White Heron" by Sarah Orne Jewett, where a young girl has to choose between her love of the bird on the title and receiving some very needed money in exchange for pointing out its nest to a hunter.I think the whole debate in the girl's mind was very well developed.I also liked Willa Cather's "Paul's Case", with Paul being an eccentric young man who gets used to the high life too soon.And another favorite was "Sweat"by Zora Neale Hurston, a story full of karma.

Great compilation of American women writers!
This compilation of American women is a fantastic introduction to the genre--from the American experience of Rebecca Harding Davis, to the superiorly intelligent prose of Edith Wharton (my personal favorite, although her story here is not my fav.) to the feminist leanings of Kate Chopin and Zora Neale Hurston---I could go on and on.This edition makes a super (and super cheap) travel companion; especially, if like me, you prefer to read short stories when traveling, rather than longer works.This book would make a great gift for a young woman, say age 13 to 25, who would appreciate the varied perspectives on life that these women provide; and its a great way to generate interest in the authors and reading.The stories are very entertaining and thought provocing; the ideas are readily accesible. You certainly cannot go wrong with this edition... I guarantee it will leave you or the lucky recipient wanting more.

Incredible classroom text!
As a college student, I am burdened with purchasing many expensive books for classes."Great Short Stories by American Women," however, was not a burden to purchase at all.The book showcases great works from many great female authors in the late 19th and early 20th century.Zora Neale Hurston, Edith Wharton, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Louisa May Alcott are just a few of the authors featured in the book.

In my class, we spent an hour discussing just one of the stories each day."Great Short Stories by American Women" is an excellent classroom resource, and is very inexpensive.

Also, I highly recommend "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman for class discussion.It is a compelling piece, and especially interesting to high school and college age students.It makes for an involved discussion. ... Read more

Product Description
Tracing the inner-depths of the short fiction of Kate Chopin, Katherine Anne Porter, and Eudora Welty, Beyond and Alone addresses the common theme of isolation in their works and the authors' treatment of universal human and social problems. ... Read more

Product Description
You get the full original text of this book interwoven with a smart, plain-spoken guide to the characters, quotes, themes, symbols, and more from Shmoop.Published in 1899, The Awakening is a novella by famed American author Kate Chopin about a married woman living in New Orleans at the turn of the century.The story follows Edna Pontellier as she transforms from a subservient wife and mother into a sexually liberated and independent woman. When The Awakening was first published, it received horrendous reviews and criticism. While critics noted the mastery of Chopin-s writing, they were scandalized by her heroine-s independence and sexual freedom. At the time, women had fewer rights and privileges: Louisiana law still maintained that wives were the property of their husbands.The Awakening is today celebrated as a masterful examination of late 19th century social mores.Designed exclusively for Kindle readers, Shmoop Classics for Kindle offer the original text of some of the greatest works of literature with a built-in interactive guide to help you dig deep into the characters, symbols, themes, and big questions of the book.For the student and the life-long learner alike, take your classroom on the road and build your brain muscles daily.No need to weigh your backpack down, no need to waste paper, no need to get sleepy in class.Shmoop is here to make you a better lover of literature and to help you discover connections to other works of literature, history, current events, and pop culture.You-ll find thought-provoking character analyses, quotes, summaries, themes, symbols, trivia, and lots of insightful commentary.Key quotes from the original text are linked to deep analysis from Shmoop. Academics from top universities, including Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, and Columbia, have written content designed to engage you and to get your brain bubbling.With Shmoop-s fun, conversational, and accessible tone, you-ll feel as though you are chatting with friends over coffee. These interactive study guides will help you discover and rediscover some of the greatest works of all time.For more information, check out http://www.shmoop.com/ballyhoo/kindle-ebooks.html"Best of the Internet" - PC Magazine"Shmoop impresses me because it is intentionally about learning, and the joy of learning, not just about passing courses and jumping through educational hoops." - Paul Hamilton, teacher and education blogger"Shmoop features deep analysis of topics in history and literature, sprinkled with a heavy dose of wry humor." - eSchoolNews ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I love the 2 books in 1 concept. The Awakening with insightful analysis from Shmoop
The Awakening is one of my all-time favorites. When I read about these new "Shmoop Classics," I had to check this one out. I couldn't help but click on the passages that were linked, to find out what Shmoop had to say. The comments were quick and punchy, so it wasn't much of a distraction. A quick "back" click and I was back into the story. The character analyses, themes analyses and literary devices (symbolism, genre, imagery, etc.) are thought-provoking and helped me see one of my old favorites in a new light. ... Read more

Product Description
CONTENTS: The Awakening, Beyond the Bayou, Maáme Pélagle, Désirée's Baby, A Respectable Woman,The Kiss, A Pair of Silk Stockings, The Locket, A Reflection ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Why Didn't I Know About This Woman?
Wow!I had never read or heard about Kate Chopin before downloading her to my Kindle.I did so because she wrote about southern Louisiana, where my daughter now lives, and a place I have come to love.What an amazing writer.Not only does she beautifully describe the country and the people, her stories are original and amazingly contemporary."The Awakening," written in 1899, anticipates women's self-awareness and liberation by decades."Desiree's Baby" addresses issues of racial "purity."Other stories talk about woman's place in the home, the family, and the hidden power she holds.

Chopin did not ignore her male characters, and some of them are fascinating - in particular Dr. Mandelet, Léonce Pontellier, Robert Lebrun, and Alcée Arobin in "The Awakening."How have we not heard of this amazing writer?I won't discourse on that.I'll simply urge you to read her.Now.You won't be sorry. ... Read more

Product Description
Here are eight stories from master American writers of the 19th century. They vary from sinister tales by Ambrose Bierce - why is that window boarded up? - and a reflective moment in the life of a woman without children, to classic short stories by O' Henry and Stephen Crane. There is even an elegiac description of an eclipse by James Fenimore Cooper, author of "The Last of the Mohicans". Read with sensitivity and skill by Garrick Hagon and Liza Ross. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A cheap read, but little else.
First off, here are the short stories included on the 2 discs:

A Horseman in the Sky - Ambrose Bierce
Regret - Kate Chopin
Eclipse - James Fenimore Cooper
The Bride Comes To Yellow Sky - Stephen Crane
The Cop and the Anthem - O. Henry
The Princess and the Puma - O. Henry
The Whirligig of Life - O. Henry

Read by Garrick Hagon and Liza Ross

Based on the name recognition of the authors, I was expecting much more.None of the stories were known to me (and probably not to anyone outside an english lit department).Two of the stories were decent, but the rest were unimpressive.Wasn't impressed with the readers either, as they tended towards over-acting (though perhaps the material lent itself to that).

The two-disc set served its purpose of keeping me awake on a long drive to a fishing cabin, but little else.I did like the fact that I could stop between short stories, unlike a longer novel.On my last long trip, I was listening to Shadow Divers (great book!) and arrived at my destination in the middle of a dive emergency. Had to wait three days to learn the fate of the divers.

Can't say I would really recommend this compilation, but if you're a voracious reader/listener who goes through books like candy, the price is hard to beat.Also might be more enjoyable to someone else for the nostalgic qualities.
... Read more