What do you think?
Rate this book
A Visit of Charity
- GenresShort Stories
5 pages, Unknown Binding
1 person is currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Eudora Welty
249 books1,030 followersEudora Alice Welty was an award-winning American author who wrote short stories and novels about the American South. Her book The Optimist's Daughter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 and she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous awards. She was the first living author to have her works published by the Library of America.
Welty was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and lived a significant portion of her life in the city's Belhaven neighborhood, where her home has been preserved. She was educated at the Mississippi State College for Women (now called Mississippi University for Women), the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Columbia Business School. While at Columbia University, where she was the captain of the women's polo team, Welty was a regular at Romany Marie's café in 1930.
During the 1930s, Welty worked as a photographer for the Works Progress Administration, a job that sent her all over the state of Mississippi photographing people from all economic and social classes. Collections of her photographs are One Time, One Place and Photographs.
Welty's true love was literature, not photography, and she soon devoted her energy to writing fiction. Her first short story, "Death of a Traveling Salesman," appeared in 1936. Her work attracted the attention of Katherine Anne Porter, who became a mentor to her and wrote the foreword to Welty's first collection of short stories, A Curtain of Green, in 1941. The book immediately established Welty as one of American literature's leading lights and featured the legendary and oft-anthologized stories "Why I Live at the P.O.," "Petrified Man," and "A Worn Path." Her novel, The Optimist's Daughter, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973.
In 1992, Welty was awarded the Rea Award for the Short Story for her lifetime contributions to the American short story, and was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, founded in 1987. In her later life, she lived near Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi, where, despite her fame, she was still a common sight among the people of her hometown.
Eudora Welty died of pneumonia in Jackson, Mississippi, at the age of 92, and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson.
Excerpted and adopted from Wikipedia.
Welty was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and lived a significant portion of her life in the city's Belhaven neighborhood, where her home has been preserved. She was educated at the Mississippi State College for Women (now called Mississippi University for Women), the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Columbia Business School. While at Columbia University, where she was the captain of the women's polo team, Welty was a regular at Romany Marie's café in 1930.
During the 1930s, Welty worked as a photographer for the Works Progress Administration, a job that sent her all over the state of Mississippi photographing people from all economic and social classes. Collections of her photographs are One Time, One Place and Photographs.
Welty's true love was literature, not photography, and she soon devoted her energy to writing fiction. Her first short story, "Death of a Traveling Salesman," appeared in 1936. Her work attracted the attention of Katherine Anne Porter, who became a mentor to her and wrote the foreword to Welty's first collection of short stories, A Curtain of Green, in 1941. The book immediately established Welty as one of American literature's leading lights and featured the legendary and oft-anthologized stories "Why I Live at the P.O.," "Petrified Man," and "A Worn Path." Her novel, The Optimist's Daughter, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973.
In 1992, Welty was awarded the Rea Award for the Short Story for her lifetime contributions to the American short story, and was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, founded in 1987. In her later life, she lived near Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi, where, despite her fame, she was still a common sight among the people of her hometown.
Eudora Welty died of pneumonia in Jackson, Mississippi, at the age of 92, and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson.
Excerpted and adopted from Wikipedia.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 25, 2019
Here follows a link to the story online: https://literaryfictions.com/fiction-...
Once started, I didn't want to stop. It made me shiver. I prefer reading Eudora Welty in small doses. This short story I definitely liked. The wording did not give me the trouble many of her other stories do.
********************
*A Visit of Charity 3 stars
*Lily Daw and the Three Ladies 3 stars
*A Worn Path 2 stars
*Delta Wedding 1 star
*Why I Live at the P.O. and Other Stories 1 star
Once started, I didn't want to stop. It made me shiver. I prefer reading Eudora Welty in small doses. This short story I definitely liked. The wording did not give me the trouble many of her other stories do.
********************
*A Visit of Charity 3 stars
*Lily Daw and the Three Ladies 3 stars
*A Worn Path 2 stars
*Delta Wedding 1 star
*Why I Live at the P.O. and Other Stories 1 star
February 10, 2025
3.5 stars
I read this for school, and it was actually really interesting..... but those old ladies were being CREEPY 🤣
I read this for school, and it was actually really interesting..... but those old ladies were being CREEPY 🤣
November 2, 2019
I saw this short story listed as a reading in one of my book clubs. I've never been a huge Eudora Welty fan because I really haven't read a lot of her work. Hard to be a fan if you really don't know much about the author and her works. After reading some of the comments from the book club members, I figured I'd give it a try. I love short stories. Short fiction was such a strong, healthy aspect of literature for so long. It seems to be a dying art, which breaks my heart.
"A Visit of Charity" is a great representative of American literature. It's a bit dark. The characters are slightly unappealing, but they're pretty realistic. They speak to the part of our natures and futures that we don't like to acknowledge. Welty's description and plot are the real winners. She uses the description to highlight the characters and the situation. The inner monologue of the little girl is spot on. Altogether, this is a great piece!
"A Visit of Charity" is a great representative of American literature. It's a bit dark. The characters are slightly unappealing, but they're pretty realistic. They speak to the part of our natures and futures that we don't like to acknowledge. Welty's description and plot are the real winners. She uses the description to highlight the characters and the situation. The inner monologue of the little girl is spot on. Altogether, this is a great piece!
March 23, 2021
The plot of the story "A Visit of Charity" by Eudora Welty consists of only one scene: a teenage girl visits the Old Ladies' Home as an obligation for school duties. The dialog between her and two old ladies scares her but she easily forgets about it after she leaves the house.
Here is the link to the text of the story:
https://literaryfictions.com/fiction-...
Here is the link to the text of the story:
https://literaryfictions.com/fiction-...
November 29, 2022
This story was alright for what it was. I had to read it for my English class today, and it certainly kept my interest. The teacher also did an amazing old lady impression, so that made me a lot more fond of it.
Read
May 11, 2023My most recent completion as it was what I examined during my English Exam this year.
I looked in depth at some of its interesting themes including: what is charity? And a reflection of mortality and death
I looked in depth at some of its interesting themes including: what is charity? And a reflection of mortality and death
December 23, 2022
enjoyable
May 17, 2023
Library short story group.
June 16, 2023
A chilly tale of a journey to purpose.
February 15, 2025
CREEPY OLD LADIES
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews