WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW‘S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR The first comprehensive historical biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the beloved author of the Little House on the Prairie books Millions of readers of Little House on the Prairie believe they know Laura Ingalls–the pioneer girl who survived blizzards … Prairie believe they know Laura Ingalls–the pioneer girl who survived blizzards and near-starvation on the Great Plains, and the woman who wrote the famous autobiographical books. But the true saga of her life has never been fully told. Now, drawing on unpublished manuscripts, letters, diaries, and land and financial records, Caroline Fraser–the editor of the Library of America edition of the Little House series–masterfully fills in the gaps in Wilder’s biography. Revealing the grown-up story behind the most influential childhood epic of pioneer life, she also chronicles Wilder’s tumultuous relationship with her journalist daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, setting the record straight regarding charges of ghostwriting that have swirled around the books.
The Little House books, for all the hardships they describe, are paeans to the pioneer spirit, portraying it as triumphant against all odds. But Wilder’s real life was harder and grittier than that, a story of relentless struggle, rootlessness, and poverty. It was only in her sixties, after losing nearly everything in the Great Depression, that she turned to children’s books, recasting her hardscrabble childhood as a celebratory vision of homesteading–and achieving fame and fortune in the process, in one of the most astonishing rags-to-riches episodes in American letters.
Spanning nearly a century of epochal change, from the Indian Wars to the Dust Bowl, Wilder’s dramatic life provides a unique perspective on American history and our national mythology of self-reliance. With fresh insights and new discoveries, Prairie Fires reveals the complex woman whose classic stories grip us to this day.
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A really excellent biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder told in the context of the larger events of American history during her time. The reality of her personal experience was soft-peddled for the sake of the young readers of her books, and totally fictionalized and saccharine-ized by Michael Langdon for his ego project TV series that used the books as a base. Laura’s daughter Rose was a fascist, anti-Semitic, conspiracy theory-believing nut job, who nonetheless was the primary editor for the book series, sometimes heavily editing them (to the extent she came close to being a co-author) while also occasionally plagiarizing her mother. And sadly, Laura wasn’t too far behind her daughter’s political leanings (e.g.,they conspired on how to cheat on their taxes.) Well worth reading regardless of whether you are a fan. The deprivations of the early pioneers; the misery caused to the Native Americans; and the way federal policies enabled farmers to destroy the prairie ecosystem, which in turn changed the climate and ruined the farmers, makes for fascinating reading. Highly recommend.
I quit half way through this bok. I had read all of the Wilder books and this so called bio was not endearing.
Makes “Little House on the Prairie” look tame
Thought provoking
This is a really interesting book, not just about Laura Ingalls Wilder but also about the history of the time she lived in.
Well, this is definitely not Little House on the Prairie. A completely different and unbiased view of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Some of it I had read in other biographies about her, so I knew that some of the harder times she experienced were left out of her books. What was fascinating about this book is how it portrays her father (not really flattering) and the relationship Laura had with her daughter. It’s definitely a biography to read.
Fun reading REAL stories behind those I read over 60 tears ago.
A history of the American frontier as well as of the surprising and surprised-by-her-life, I think, author of the Little House in the Woods series. If you have read those books, if you once lived by the banks of Plum Creek and in the little house in the Big Woods, you should really read this.
Anyone who likes the “Little House” books should read this book of the bacgroung of Laura Ingles Wilder
One of my favorites book of 2019. I must say this book is great. So much history of this country and a fantastic story.
An interesting account of the world Laura Ingalls Wilder grew up in from a broader historical perspective.
Learning about the real life of Laura Ingalls Wilder was amazing. She was one strong lady.
An interesting accompaniment to the Little House Series.
very good
Since I grew up with Little House on the Prairie books, I found this book fascinating in telling the background of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s childhood. It tells the brutally realistic story behind the child-friendly ‘little house’ stories by explaining the historic context in America’s 1800 evolvement, from the Civil War years and the settling of the midwest prairies. Many heartbreaking truths are revealed, like the treatment of the Sioux before the Uprising in 1862. Parts of the setting include MN and WI in areas familiar to me, since I grew up in northern MN. An interesting survey of our American history that is often overlooked. I recommend it for those familiar with Wilder as well as history buffs.
I couldn’t put this book down and highly recommend it to all Laura Ingall’s Wilder lovers. I’ve read many books about her, but this stands out. It doesn’t sugar-coat her reality like the t.v. show did. If you don’t want to hear the harsh and non-rosy realities, don’t read this. This book provides information about Wilder’s life and how the books came to be. But it also provides lessons on the reality and consequences of American homesteading, including the cruel results of Manifest Destiny on native Americans and the permanent damage to the ecology of the prairies and the role of women during that time. This book also addresses the controversy over the part Laura’s daughter played in the writing of the books but doesn’t sensationalize it This is a beautiful, well researched account and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Little House on the Prairie, the book series and the TV Series have made Laura Ingalls Wilder an icon of the American West. Since her family migrated often many states and communities lay claim to her mythology and honour her memory but how does one separate the myth from the living breathing woman who pioneered the West and wrote the books. Using her letters, memoirs, and other documents the author attempts to tease out the woman behind the myth.
Fraser is nothing if not thorough. She begins by telling the history of the Lakota whose lands the Ingalls and their ilk settled. The Ingalls were poor from the arrival of the first ancestors in America; there is nothing noble about poverty. Due to failure to pay taxes or in hopes of finding a brighter future the Ingalls/Wilders moved early and often. Former homesteads are scattered throughout the mid-west. The Rockie Mountain Locusts or their like plague Farmers to the present day. Drought and debt ran hand in hand with prairie fires, hale and tornadoes.
The Wilder’s lives are placed in geo-political context. The same government that encouraged the Western land-grab declined federal aid to starving millions when their attempts at farming ended in famine. The ineptitude and bad advice given by agricultural agents was parodied a century later in the person of the county agent on Green Acres. That the govenment in question was Democrat undrscores the fact that the liberal/conservative divide which Canadians know do not apply here.
On the other hand no matter the circumstances, the Wilders were never satisfied always looking for that land flowing with milk and honey that ever eluded them. Wilder and her daughter Rose Lane took to writing as a surer means of making a living than farming ever had been. Playing fast and loose with the facts they eschewed ethical journalism in search of a good story Rose writing fictionalized biographies of famous individuals serialized in monthly magazines. This style of yellow journalism can still be seen displayed on the news stands of any grocery store or department store in the lurid headlines of the National Inquirer or the Star.
Though this is ostenibly a bio of Wilder, her daughter Rose figures prominently and the degree to which their lives and writings are intertwined suggested; the daughter editing the mother’s works for publication and even possibly ghost writing some of the later books.
The final sections of the book deal with Wilder’s wrting which made her famous and finally rich. The bickering and jealousies that marked her relationship with her daughter Rose who was her unacknowledged editor and the better though less successful writer.
Despite protestations to the contrary this assessment of Wilder makes it clear that the Little House Books were historical fiction for children with a loosely biographical background.
An incredible look into the real life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, her peripatetic family, and her conniving daughter.
Meticulously researched. Excellent blending of history and biography.
The true story of the Ingalls