THE AWAKENING
The Awakening is set in New Orleans and the Southern Louisiana coast at the end of the nineteenth century. The plot centers on Edna Pontellier and her struggle to reconcile her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century American South. It is one of the earliest American novels that focuses on women's issues without condescension. The novel blends realistic narrative, incisive social commentary, and psychological complexity.
BEYOND THE BAYOU
A middle-aged black woman named La Folle lives in a cabin past an abandoned field next to the bayou, and she has never visited the woods beyond her home due to a frightening experience in her childhood when the young master P'tit Maître came bloodied into her mother's cabin after a skirmish in the woods.
MA'AME PELAGIE
In the thirty years since the war, the once grand mansion on Côte Joyeuse has been largely destroyed and has fallen into ruin. Philippe Valmêt originally built it in 1840, and his oldest daughter, Ma'ame Pélagie dreams of rebuilding the mansion.
DESIREE'S BABY
Madame Valmondé visits L’Abri to see Désirée and her new baby, and on the way, she reminisces about when Désirée was herself a baby. Monsieur had found her asleep at the gateway of Valmondé, supposedly abandoned by a passing band of Texans.
A RESPECTABLE WOMAN
Mrs. Baroda is somewhat disappointed to learn that her husband's friend is planning to spend a week or two at their plantation. She has never met Gouvernail. When she finally meets him, she finds that she actually likes him.
THE KISS
Inside a dimly lit room, Brantain sits in a shadow, gathering courage from the dark to stare at the handsome girl sitting in the light of the flame. Brantain loves her and she knows it. She waits for him to declare his love. She intends to accept his offer despite his unattractiveness because he is immensely wealthy.
A PAIR OF SILK STOCKINGS
Little Mrs. Sommers unexpectedly acquires fifteen dollars, which seems like a large amount to her. Feeling important and wealthy, she considers how to invest her money.
THE LOCKET
One autumn night, four Confederate soldiers are encamped on a hill as they wait for their orders. One of the resting men asks another about an object around his neck.
A REFLECTION
Some people are born lucky, with everything they need to survive. To travel through life on a journey with others like them. And some people are left at the roadside, desperate to catch up.
Highlights of this edition are:
• The Awakening, along with another 8 short stories.
• 18 illustration and photos.
• Free web links to audio copies of the individual stories (apart from Ma’ame Pelagie).
• It is formatted for ease of use and enjoyment on your Nook reader.
• An active (easy to use) Table of Contents listing every chapter accessible from the Nook menu.
• Perfect formatting in rich text compatible with Nook's Text-to-Speech features.
• Plus About the Author section.
• 351 pages (in the Nook format) for a very low price.
This book is unabridged (unedited) and the stories appear as they were first published.
![Dracula by Bram Stoker [Unabridged Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/2940012309907_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Dracula by Bram Stoker [Unabridged Edition]")