The Awakening

by Chopin, Kate

$12,000 · Offered by Biblio · No longer available

First edition

Chicago: Herbert S. Stone & Co, 1899. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. The uncommon first edition of this enduring Southern novel about a woman who is awakened to the possibilities of life when she falls in love for the first time with a man who is not her husband. Chopin was born in St. Louis but spent many years in Louisiana, where most of her writing was set, including this novel, which was written after she and her family returned to Missouri. While the book generated controversy for its "immoral" premise (the Mercantile Library of St. Louis initially purchased a copy and then removed it from circulation*), a number of early readers recognized it for its groundbreaking portrayal of a woman unwilling to be hemmed in by traditional expectations. The unnamed writer of the "Book Ways and Worldly Ways" column in the Delaware Gazette and State Journal (July 13, 1899), for example, wrote, "The topmost book on the table today recommended for summer reading is Kate Chopin's The Awakening....She writes things we women used only whisper in our boudoirs. But we women are getting on, aren't we?" The Newest Books column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch quoted appreciative letters from readers in England and then concluded, "Perhaps when the London critics have thoroughly explained the merits of The Awakening American critics who have shown a disposition to look askance at its frank treatment of the commonest of human experiences will discover its value as a work of art." Chopin (1850

• Publisher: Herbert S. Stone & Co
• Year: 1899
• Edition: First Edition
• Binding: hardcover

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