A new translation of a classic novel by the major author of twentieth century Welsh literature.
The happy family life of Lora Ffennig is shattered when her husband abruptly and unexpectedly leaves her for a colleague. The world she has taken for granted is suddenly unfamiliar, and Lora must find a new compass to guide her and her children. Set in a tight-knit Welsh-speaking community at a time when separation, adultery and divorce carried huge social stigma, The Awakening is a novel full of insight into human character and changing social mores.
Intriguingly it sees Roberts in the middle of a fifty year writing career, responding to the erosion of the certainties of her early life through the influences of Chekhov and Maupassant.
Kate Roberts (1891-1985) was the dominant figure of Welsh-language literature in the twentieth century. Her novel Feet in Chains (1936) and stories Tea in the Heather (1959) are also available in translation from Seren.