Kate Chopin is now recognised as a unique voice in American literature. Her seminal novel, The Awakening, published in 1899, explored new and startling territory, and stunned readers with its frank depiction of the limits of marriage and motherhood. The essays in this Companion treat a wide range of Chopin's stories and novels, drawing her relationship with other writers, genres and literary developments, and pay close attention to the transatlantic dimension of her work.
This book explores Zora Neale Hurston's (1891-1960) artistic achievements and her character: her individualism, her penchant for drama, her sometimes controversial politics, her philosophical influences and her views on gender relations. The author explores Hurston's life and analyses her major works and short stories. Historical, social, political, and cultural contexts for Hurston's life and work, including her key role in the development of the Harlem Renaissance, are set out. With an overview of the reception of Hurston's work, both in her lifetime and up to the present, as well as suggestions for further reading.