A wide-ranging collection from classics of fiction tales to humorous sketches to romances, these short stories, with their interesting and diverse characters, have something for everyone. ‘Desiree’s Baby’ deals with mixed-race children, with a surprise ending that subtly questions the feelings of racial superiority. ‘La Belle Zoraide’ is about the cruelty of slaveholders in trying to arrange a marriage between a creole beauty and a mulatto she doesn’t love. ‘A Lady of Bayou St. John’ tells the tale of a young married woman in a lonely marriage who is attracted to another man and believes she will go "anywhere, anywhere" with him. You may well find yourself curled up on your sofa one evening reading all these great stories in one sitting! Kate Chopin (1850-1904), born Katherine O’Flaherty, was an American writer of novels and short stories mostly set in the 19th-century American South. Her works deal with themes of the female psyche and women's limited life opportunities in the Victorian era, often in a naturalist style. She was considered controversial in her time, but is now praised as a pioneer of 20th-century feminist American literature. Her most famous works include the novel ‘The Awakening’ (1899), which explores themes of rebellion against femininity and motherhood at the turn of the 20th century. Adaptations of this title include Grand Isle (1991) starring Kelly McGillis and Adrian Pasdar, and The End of August (1981).

One agreeable afternoon in late autumn two young men stood together on Canal Street, closing a conversation that had evidently begun within the club-house which they had just quitted. "There's big money in it, Offdean," said the elder of the two. "I would n't have you touch it if there was n't. Why, they tell me Patchly 's pulled a hundred thousand out of the concern a'ready." "That may be," replied Offdean, who had been politely attentive to the words addressed to him, but whose face bore a look indicating that he was closed to conviction. He leaned back upon the clumsy stick which he carried, and continued: "It's all true, I dare say, Fitch; but a decision of that sort would mean more to me than you'd believe if I were to tell you. The beggarly twenty-five thousand's all I have, and I want to sleep with it under my pillow a couple of months at least before I drop it into a slot." "You 'll drop it into Harding & Offdean's mill to grind out the pitiful two and a half per cent commission racket; that 's what you 'll do in the end, old fellow-see if you don't."

In one volume, the two short-story collections that established Kate Chopin as one of America's best-loved realist writers. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Bayou Folk and A Night in Acadie are short story collections by Louisiana Creole author Kate Chopin. Many of the stories are set in Natchitoches in north-central Louisiana. The characters in stories are usually residents of Louisiana, and many are Creoles of various ethnic or racial backgrounds. _x000D_ Table of Contents:_x000D_ Bayou Folk:_x000D_ A No-Account Creole_x000D_ In and Out of Old Natchitoches_x000D_ In Sabine_x000D_ A Very Fine Fiddle_x000D_ Beyond the Bayou_x000D_ Old Aunt Peggy_x000D_ The Return of Alcibiade_x000D_ A Rude Awakening_x000D_ The Bênitous' Slave_x000D_ Désirée's Baby_x000D_ A Turkey Hunt_x000D_ Madame Célestin's Divorce_x000D_ Love on the Bon-Dieu_x000D_ Loka_x000D_ Boulôt and Boulotte_x000D_ For Marse Chouchoute_x000D_ A Visit to Avoyelles_x000D_ A Wizard from Gettysburg_x000D_ Ma'ame Pélagie_x000D_ At the 'Cadian Ball_x000D_ La Belle Zoraïde_x000D_ A Gentleman of Bayou Têche_x000D_ A Lady of Bayou St. John_x000D_ A Night in Acadie:_x000D_ A Night in Acadie_x000D_ Athénaïse_x000D_ After the Winter_x000D_ Polydore_x000D_ Regret_x000D_ A Matter of Prejudice_x000D_ Caline_x000D_ A Dresden Lady in Dixie_x000D_ Nég Créol_x000D_ The Lilies_x000D_ Azélie_x000D_ Mamouche_x000D_ A Sentimental Soul_x000D_ Dead Men's Shoes_x000D_ At Chênière Caminada_x000D_ Odalie Misses Mass_x000D_ Cavanelle_x000D_ Tante Cat'rinette_x000D_ A Respectable Woman_x000D_ Ripe Figs_x000D_ Ozème's Holiday