Kate Chopin BAYOU FOLK 1894 Rare First Edition

Title: Bayou Folk
Author: Kate Chopin
Publisher: Houghton, Mifflin and Company
Printing Year: 1894 First Edition

Condition/Details: Bound in gilt embossed green cloth boards, this antique volume is a rare first edition example of Chopin's famous collection of stories.

Kate Chopin did not begin writing until the late 1880s, driven by financial necessity and a desire for intellectual activity. Her first novel, At Fault, was printed privately in 1890. Her two collections of short stories, Bayou Folk (1894) and A Night in Acadie (1897), were published by Houghton Mifflin and Way & Williams, respectively. Chopin's early work was shaped by William Dean Howells's realism, though her later ironic pieces show the influence of Guy de Maupassant. Despite living in Louisiana for a brief fourteen years, Chopin infuses her texts with Creole, Cajun, and African American cultures. Her portrait of this uniquely Louisianan society, combined with her employment of dialect and regional mannerisms, contribute to her particular flourish as a local colorist. Many of the twenty-three stories included in Bayou Folk (1894) are set in the Cane River country of Louisiana where Chopin herself lived for several years. In these stories her characters challenge the limits of their socioeconomic station and rebel against the social mores of their times. While this collection earned Chopin praise, her acclaim diminished within her lifetime as she more frequently turned to subject matter that critics considered scandalous. All but four of the stories collected in this volume had been published previously. The best-known story in Bayou Folk, "Désirée's Baby," which was previously published in Vogue, employs de Maupassant's ironic style. Désirée, a lovely young woman who grew up with foster parents, marries a successful plantation owner, Armand Aubigny. But when their newborn child exhibits African American skin coloring, Aubigny claims Désirée's unknown parentage is to blame, but as Désirée wanders away from the plantation the reader learns that Armand's racial identity is also ambiguous. "At the 'Cadian Ball," another well-known story in this collection, features the dashing Alcée Laballiere, Chopin's fictional portrayal of her own lover, Albert Sampite (Courtesy UNC)

The volume shows some mild external wear, with a slightly cocked spine, and is solidly bound with clear pages. The volume shows some antique library markings. The book measures approximately 5" x 7.25" and contains 313 pages plus the original publisher's catalogue. Shipping cost (within the U.S.) for this lot will be: $4.50