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Enduring stories that are as relevant today as they were when written at the turn of the century by influential women writers.

This audio recording includes: On the Divide and The Garden Lodge by Willa Cather; A Point at Issue, Desiree's Baby, A Pair of Silk Stockings, and The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin; Three Thanksgivings and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman; and The Pelican and The Fullness of Life by Edith Wharton.

Kate Chopin (1851-1901) was born Katherine O'Flaherty in St. Louis in 1851. She was a popular social belle, admired for her wit and beauty. In 1871 she married Oscar Chopin and lived in Louisiana until his sudden death in 1882. Chopin began writing about the Creole and Cajun people in the South, gaining acclaim for her finely crafted short stories. Upon publication in 1899, her now-classic novel The Awakening was widely condemned for its controversial themes, and Chopin was devastated by its harsh critical reception. She died in 1904, denied in her lifetime the recognition she desperately wanted and richly deserved.

Willa Cather (1873-1947), the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of more than fifteen books, is widely considered one of the major fiction writers of the twentieth century. She grew up in Nebraska and is best known for her depictions of frontier life on the Great Plains in novels such as O Pioneers!, My Antonia, and Song of the Lark. In 1944 she was awarded the American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Fiction. She won the Pulitzer Prize in1923 for One of Ours.

Edith Wharton (1862-1937) was born in New York and is best known for her stories of life among the upper-class society into which she was born. She was educated privately at home and in Europe. In 1894 she began writing fiction, and her novel The House of Mirth established her as a leading writer. Her novels The Age of Innocence and Old New York were each awarded the Pulitzer Prize. She was the first woman to receive that honor. In 1929 she was awarded the American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Fiction.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) gained much of her fame with lectures on women's issues, ethics, labor, human rights, and social reform. She often referred to these themes in her fiction. She is best remembered for her 1892 short story The Yellow Wallpaper, based on her own bout with severe postpartum depression and misguided medical treatment.