Kate Chopin Books

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Kate Chopin was an American author of French and Irish descent. The novels and short stories she wrote turned her into one of the most celebrated feminist authors of the 20th Century, at least among the scholars who rediscovered her work following her death.

Born in 1850 in St. Louis, Missouri, Chopin’s father was a successful businessman from Ireland who eventually moved to the US. Her mother was a prominent member of St. Louis’s French community.

Chopin had five siblings but they all died before her. Her sisters were still infants when they passed away. Her half-brothers had reached their early 20s. As a child, Chopin was as interested in folk tales as she was in religious texts. She also read a lot of poetry.

A former student of Sacred Heart Convent in St. Louis, she moved to her grandparents’ (grandmother and great-grandmother) home when her father died. The experience was transformative because Chopin learned a lot from the women, including French and History.

But she only stayed with them for two years before going back to the convent. Life at Sacred Heart Convent had its benefits. Besides learning to handle money, Chopin met a gifted writer (Mary ‘O Meara) who tutored her students in her craft.

Unfortunately, the Civil War finally caught up with St. Louis in 1861, ruining Chopin’s life by getting her best friend banished from St. Louis because of the support her family had shown to the confederacy. It was also during this period that Chopin’s great-grandmother and half-brother died.

But the author was able to graduate from the convent in 1868. Two years later, she began her marriage to Oscar Chopin. She gave birth to six children in the years that followed. The family lived in New Orleans for a time before moving to Cloutierville following the collapse of a cotton brokerage firm that Chopin’s husband managed.

Oscar’s death in 1882 was a devastating financial blow because he left Chopin with a lot of debt. After making an effort to run her dead husband’s business, the author followed her mother’s advice to settle back in St. Louis.

Her mother’s death a year later compounded the loss she felt over the death of her husband and the failure of their business. She was overwhelmed with depression and she only overcame it when a doctor encouraged her to write as a form of therapy.

The advice paid off. Chopin started writing short stories and articles many of which appeared in newspapers, magazines, and periodicals. She wrote a novel called ‘The Awakening’ that came out in 1899. While newspaper critics loved it, many people criticized Chopin for the scandalous components she had included in the book.

The rejection of ‘The Awakening’ was demoralizing for Kate Chopin. She continued to write even though her published works did not produce financial rewards. The author used her local investments to make ends meet. She was 54 when she died from a brain hemorrhage in 1904.

Kate Chopin Awards

The home that Chopin shared with her husband became a National Historic Landmark called the ‘Kate Chopin House’. By the time a fire destroyed it, the house had become a museum (Bayou Folk Museum). You will also find the author on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

Best Kate Chopin Books

Chopin gained contemporary fame when people discovered her writings in the 1970s. Chopin’s best work includes:

The Awakening: The Awakening tells the story of a woman who feels trapped in her domestic situation. She responds by searching for passion within the confines of physical love. When it came out in 1899, the book shocked readers because society during Kate Chopin’s time was primarily accustomed to conventional Victorian romantic fiction, which was quite pious.

Chopin went against tradition by giving female sexuality the sort of attention it had never received in romantic fiction. In the decades that followed the author’s death, new readers discovered her work. But the times had changed drastically, so Chopin’s novel wasn’t nearly as scandalous as it had been during her time.

The Story Of An Hour: This short story came out in 1894. It follows a woman who is forced to contemplate a future that has significantly changed now that her husband has died. The short story is popular among readers that love American feminist works.

When Does The Next Kate Chopin book come out?

Kate Chopin doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Nine Stories and was released on October, 25th 2022. It is the newest book in the Kate Chopin Collections.

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