Katherine O'Flaherty, a member of one of St. Louis' oldest families, attended the St. Louis Academy of the Sacred Heart. When she married New Orleans native Oscar Chopin, she encountered the Creole culture which provided settings for many of her works. She wrote more than 100 short stories in the 1890s, and hosted a literary salon in her home at 3317 Morgan Street. Her 1899 novel, The Awakening, was condemned for its frank treatment of a young woman's sexual and artistic growth. Now it is recognized both for the quality of the writing and for its importance as an early feminist work.
   She is not widely known today as a "local colorist," though Judith Fetterley and Marjorie Pryse included her writings in their excellent anthology, American Women Regionalists (1850-1910) . Unlike many local colorists, nearly all of her work is still in print (i.e. readily available for both scholars, students and folks just looking for a 'good read.' Her work is also well-represented in on-line libraries. [I will include some links eventually; in the meanwhile, you can hit the search engines with confidence.] I have her tale "Ozeme" among my text files awaiting a spare hour for formatting, so you can check back here in the spring for it.

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