The Awakening

'Using the nuanced and poetic language available to her, Chopin framed a part of female experience that had never before been acknowledged. The effect was explosive . . . Introducing this release of The Awakening has given me an opportunity to re-experience one of my life's important books . . . I still marvel at Chopin's realism, her impatience with conventional trappings, her arresting honesty' INTRODUCED BY BARBARA KINGSOLVER

'Incisive, brilliant and haunting' MAGGIE O'FARRELL

'This landmark feminist novel, first published in 1899, remains startlingly relevant' JUDY BLUME , Elle My Life in Books

Over one long, languid summer Edna Pontellier, fettered by marriage and motherhood, becomes acquainted with Robert Lebrun. As the days shorten and the temperature begins to drop Edna succumbs to Robert's devotion. But in the thrall of this ever-strengthening desire Edna begins to realise the true extent of her psychological, social and sexual confinement and its devastating consequences for her future.

The Awakening is widely regarded as one of the forerunners of feminist literature alongside Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Flaubert's Madame Bovary. First published in the United States in 1899, this radical novel sent shockwaves through American society and continues to speak to readers one hundred years later. This tender, brilliant, and seductive novel is as beautifully written as it is politically engaging.