Pomona's Travels

Frank R. Stockton (1834-1902) was an American writer and editor, remembered for his humorous fiction and for the famous short story The Lady, or the Tiger? He wrote for both adults and children, and he had a particular talent for deadpan comedy in which absurd events are narrated in a perfectly straightforward manner. He had been an assistant editor of the children's magazine St. Nicholas before devoting himself to his own fiction.

Pomona's Travels, published in 1894, is a sequel to Rudder Grange, the 1879 book that introduced the odd and endearing household of the same name. The characters Pomona and Jone return here, and the book describes in a series of episodes their trip to England and Scotland. As in the earlier volume, much of the humour comes from the collision between Pomona's unpredictable view of the world and the conventions of polite society. The narrative gently satirises the habits of tourists and the customs of British hotels and country life.

The chapter titles, such as Wanted, a Vicarage, On the Four-in-hand and Jone Overshadows the Waiter, announce the episodic and comic nature of the story. It is a book to be enjoyed for its incidents and its tone rather than for any deep plot, and it works well in short sessions.

The book can be enjoyed on its own, although listeners who have heard Rudder Grange will recognise the characters and enjoy their development. This LibriVox recording is read by Sibella Denton, who also recorded the earlier volume. It lasts about four hours and fifty-four minutes and is divided into twenty-eight files.