Skip to main content
Digital Audiobook
The Ponder Heart by Eudora Welty

Listen to a sample

00:00
00:00

The Ponder Heart

Author
Eudora Welty
Narrator
Sally Darling
Publisher
Recorded Books, Inc.
Publish Date
23 September 2011
Run Time
4 hours
Format
Audiobook
Genre
Fiction: general and literary
$13.95

Log in to see your price

Gift

What to expect

Originally published in The New Yorker in 1954, The Ponder Heart is easily Eudora Welty's most comic novel, a lighthearted burlesque that rivals Caldwell's Tobacco Road for capturing rural idioms, and the novels of Mark Twain for high farce. Edna Earle, a person of large distinction in Clay County, and the talkative owner of the Beulah Hotel, tells the story of her Uncle Daniel Ponder, a local hero whose over-affection for society compels him to give everything he owns away. The disappearance of Uncle Daniel's second wife, the waifish and willowy Bonnie Dee Peacock, leads to his arrest for murder. The trial, which comprises the second half of the novel, is a masterpiece of courtroom anarchy. A cast of Dickensian characters coupled with Edna's hysterically accurate observations of small-town life, transport the reader, like a raucous family drive, to a truly original conclusion.

User Reviews

No reviews yet.

Details
Author
Eudora Welty
Narrator
Sally Darling
Duration
4 hours
Release Date
23 September 2011
ISBN
9781456125073
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Recorded Books, Inc.
Genre
Fiction: general and literary

Synopsis

Originally published in The New Yorker in 1954, The Ponder Heart is easily Eudora Welty's most comic novel, a lighthearted burlesque that rivals Caldwell's Tobacco Road for capturing rural idioms, and the novels of Mark Twain for high farce. Edna Earle, a person of large distinction in Clay County, and the talkative owner of the Beulah Hotel, tells the story of her Uncle Daniel Ponder, a local hero whose over-affection for society compels him to give everything he owns away. The disappearance of Uncle Daniel's second wife, the waifish and willowy Bonnie Dee Peacock, leads to his arrest for murder. The trial, which comprises the second half of the novel, is a masterpiece of courtroom anarchy. A cast of Dickensian characters coupled with Edna's hysterically accurate observations of small-town life, transport the reader, like a raucous family drive, to a truly original conclusion.

More from the same narrator

About xigxag

xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.

There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.

Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.

Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.