All Formats & Editions

"A wonderful tragicomedy" of a Mississippi family, a vast inheritance, and an impulsive heir, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Delta Wedding (The New York Times). Daniel Ponder is the amiable heir to the wealthiest family in Clay County, Mississippi. To friends and strangers,... Read Full Overview

Uncle Daniel Ponder, whose fortune is exceeded only by his desire to give it away, is a source of vexation for his niece, Edna Earle. Uncle Daniel's trial for the alleged murder of his seventeen-year-old bride is a comic masterpiece. Awarded the William Dean Howells Medal of... Read Full Overview

Edna's Uncle Daniel Ponder is quite a character in the townof Clay, Mississippi: he dresses fit to kill and is as goodas gold. But he's rich as Croesus, and a great deal too generous. Needing someone to give things to, he marries 17-year-old Bonnie Dee from a poor backwoods family... Read Full Overview