Audiobook · read by volunteers
Rudder Grange
Frank R. Stockton (1834–1902)
Read by Sibella Denton · 40 chapters · 5 h 54
About the book
Imagine setting up married life in a house unlike any other, and you have the premise of Rudder Grange. Frank R. Stockton's comic sketches of country life in middle America in the late nineteenth century follow a naive, endearing young married couple through one comic predicament after another. At the heart of many of the stories is Pomona, the orphan servant, odd, devoted and always funny, who has a way of turning every situation upside down. The chapters themselves announce what is in store: the first treats of a novel style of dwelling-house, the next of a novel style of boarder, then of a novel style of girl. The humour is gentle, good-natured and delivered with a perfectly straight face. Forty files, read by Sibella Denton in about six hours, make a cheerful and comforting listen for anyone who enjoys gentle comedy.
Introduction
Frank R. Stockton (1834-1902) was an American author and editor who became one of the best-known humorists of his time. He is perhaps most famous for the short story The Lady, or the Tiger?, an ingenious tale that left its readers arguing over the ending. Rudder Grange, published in 1879, was one of his early successes in book form, and its sequels, including Pomona's Travels, kept the characters before the public for years.
The book consists of a number of short, comic sketches of country life in middle America in the late 1800s, held together by the same set of characters. The mishaps of their domestic life win the reader over to the naive young couple, while the orphan servant Pomona takes centre stage in several of the stories. The opening chapter, titled Treating of a Novel Style of Dwelling-house, sets the tone: Stockton delights in the unexpected, and in an almost mock-formal style of narration that makes the nonsense seem perfectly reasonable.
The humour of the book depends on character and tone more than on plot, which is why it has stayed fresh for so long. Its social world is that of the post-Civil War United States, in which ordinary people were adjusting to new possibilities for housing, servants and leisure. The wit is mild but constant, and the pace is relaxed.
This LibriVox recording is read by Sibella Denton. It lasts about five hours and fifty-four minutes and is divided into forty files, most of them half-chapters. It offers excellent value for listeners who like cheerful, comforting stories, and it pairs well with the sequel, Pomona's Travels.
Public domain
Frank R. Stockton died in 1902: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text