Available for the first time and collected in one volume, the letters of one of America’s most beloved authors, Laura Ingalls Wilder—a treasure trove that offers new and unexpected understanding of her life and work.
The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder is a vibrant, deeply personal portrait of this revered American author, illuminating her thoughts, travels, philosophies, writing … travels, philosophies, writing career, and dealings with family, friends, and fans as never before.
This is a fresh look at the adult life of the author in her own words. Gathered from museums and archives and personal collections, the letters span over sixty years of Wilder’s life, from 1894–1956 and shed new light on Wilder’s day-to-day life. Here we see her as a businesswoman and author—including her beloved Little House books, her legendary editor, Ursula Nordstrom, and her readers—as a wife, and as a friend. In her letters, Wilder shares her philosophies, political opinions, and reminiscences of life as a frontier child. Also included are letters to her daughter, writer Rose Wilder Lane, who filled a silent role as editor and collaborator while the famous Little House books were being written.
Wilder biographer William Anderson collected and researched references throughout these letters and the result is an invaluable historical collection, tracing Wilder’s life through the final days of covered wagon travel, her life as a farm woman, a country journalist, Depression-era author, and years of fame as the writer of the Little House books. This collection is a sequel to her beloved books, and a snapshot into twentieth-century living.
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I was obsessed with these books as a child, so I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the real person and her adult life.
The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder is the best book that I have read in several years. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that it has spoiled me for my next book. The letters range from letters to her beloved husband Manley while she was on trips with her daughter, to notes to fans wo wrote her, to letters regarding about the Little House book series, to political opinions about concerns that weighed heavily on her heart. The humble Laura underestimated her own writing ability, but anyone who reads these letters will grasp her extraordinary gift of writing. The readers of this book learn more details about events and people in the eight “Little House” books, as well as things that were not covered in the books. Mr. Anderson did a very nice job of selecting and organizing letters. He added explanatory notes, but only when necessary, primarily allowing the wonderful letters to speak for themselves. Reading these letters was like having a conversation with Laura, right there in the room with me! It is a “conversation” that I will miss!
Fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder will appreciate insights into her life and character from letters she wrote.
I loved reading the Little House books as a kid and then rereading them to each of my children multiple times as they grew up. I often wished I knew Laura Ingalls Wilder better. These letters helped a lot! Reading her thoughts as she wrote to her friends and family gave me an inside peek into her real world, uninhibited by the fact that she wasn’t writing for an audience of children. Her life was certainly challenging, and she doesn’t hide from that fact, but her spirit moves in the rarified atmosphere of making the best of each situation. I loved getting to know her better.
I can never learn enough about Laura and her family.
Informative but repetitive
It’s based on a fascinating bit of history. Which the author has totally fictionalized, so there’s no way to tell what’s true and what’s not. Bah!
This book was interesting but a little slow and hard to plod through.
Enjoyable story about this special author.
I grew up reading the Little House books., It is so wonderful to read about Laura as an adult.
I loved THE SELECTED LETTERS OF LAURA INGALLS WILDER. It was so very interesting to see “behind the curtain” of her life. So often we identify the author with the book and forget that he/she had a day-to-day life. I enjoyed the interplay between her and her daughter, Rose. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in The Little House series.
I’ve always been a fan of Laura Ingals Wilder’s books (Little House on the Prairie, and others about her childhood on the Frontier). This is a book about the letters between Laura and others that documents details during her lifetime on her home, her marriage, her child Rose, Rose’s career, their travels, and so on. I find it very interesting reading.
Very interesting collection of letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder mostly to her daughter. I loved the Little House on the Prairie tv show, so this was great for me to read a portion of history.