The people of Mount Salus, Mississippi always felt good about Judge McKelva. He was a quiet, solid reassuring figure, just as a judge should be. Then, ten years after his first wife's death, he marries the frivolous young Wanda Fay. No-one can understand his action, not least his beloved daughter, Laurel, who finds it hard to accept the new bride. It is only some years later, when circumstance brings her back to her childhood home, that Laurel stirs old memories and comes to understand the peculiarities of her upbringing, and the true relationship between her parents and herself. The Optimist's Daughter is a reflective, poignant novel of independence and love, for which Eudora Welty, one of America's gretest contemporary Southern writers, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

尤多拉•韦尔蒂（1909—2001）

首位在世时作品入选“美国文库”的文坛巨匠

福克纳之后美国南方最伟大的小说家

三获美国最佳短篇小说奖，六获欧•亨利奖，并囊括普利策小说奖、美国全国图书奖、美国图书评论家奖、美国文学艺术金质奖章、总统自由勋章

雷蒙德•卡佛、托妮•莫里森、艾丽丝•门罗、杜鲁门•卡波蒂、理查德•福特、 乔伊斯•卡罗尔•欧茨……都深受其影响

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出生于美国密西西比州中产阶级家庭，母亲酷爱阅读，父亲热衷摄影，韦尔蒂自幼深受他们影响。

大萧条时期，韦尔蒂在州政府供职，有机会到各地旅行。旅行途中所见普通人家的生活情景，让她深深着迷。为了捕捉那些场景，她拍了几百张照片，并于1936 年在纽约举办了摄影展。同年，她的第一篇小说也获得发表，作家生涯就此开端；此后佳作不断，在小说、述评和散文写作中尽显其才。

1998年，其作品被收入代表美国文学最高成就的“美国文库”系列，打破了过去只选已逝作家作品的传统，在文学界引起轰动