Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Edited by Pamela Smith Hill

 

Started reading Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder and edited by Pamela Smith Hill. Not sure how long it will take me to get through it because of my limited reading time. Here is the book's description:

Follow the real Laura Ingalls and her family as they make their way west and discover that truth is as remarkable as fiction.

Hidden away since the 1930s, Laura Ingalls Wilder's never-before-published autobiography reveals the true stories of her pioneering life. Some of her experiences will be familiar; some will be a surprise. Pioneer Girl re-introduces readers to the woman who defined the pioneer experience for millions of people around the world.

Through her recollections, Wilder details the Ingalls family's journey from Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, back to Minnesota, and on to Dakota Territory, sixteen years of travels, unforgettable stories, and the everyday people who became immortal through her fiction. Using additional manuscripts, diaries, and letters, Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography builds on Wilder's work by adding valuable context and explores her growth as a writer.

Author of an award-winning Laura Ingalls Wilder biography, editor Pamela Smith Hill offers new insights into Wilder's life and times. In an introduction, Hill illuminates Wilder's writing career and the dynamic relationship between the budding novelist and her daughter and editor, Rose Wilder Lane. Sharing the story of Wilder's original manuscript, Hill discusses the catalysts for Pioneer Girl and the process through which Wilder's story turned from an unpublished memoir into the national phenomenon of the Little House series.

Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography also explores the history of the frontier that the Ingalls family traversed and the culture and life of the communities Wilder lived in. This groundbreaking volume develops a fuller picture of Wilder's life and times for the millions of readers who wish to learn more about this important American author. It contains one hundred and twenty-five images, eight fully researched maps, and hundreds of annotations based on numerous primary sources, including census data, county, state, and federal records, and newspapers of the period.

An important historic and literary achievement, this annotated edition of Pioneer Girl provides modern readers with new insights into the woman behind the fictional classics Little House in the Big Woods, Farmer Boy, Little House on the Prairie, On the Banks of Plum Creek, By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, These Happy Golden Years, and The First Four Years.

Have you read it yet? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. 

Book Review: The Three Faces of Nellie: The Real Story Behind Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Nellie Oleson" by Robynne Elizabeth Miller

 

By now, most fans of the books and the television show know that Nellie Oleson is a composite of three historical figures from Laura Ingalls Wilder's life: Nellie Owens, Genevieve Masters, and Stella Gilbert. In her 2016 book, The Three Faces of Nellie: The Real Story Behind Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Nellie Oleson," Robynne Elizabeth Miller dives deeply into the three young women who became Nellie Oleson to the world. In addition, she shares biographical information about their families, including dates of birth and death, occupations, marriages, and so much more!

Nellie Oleson became a fascinating character from the moment readers first met her in On the Banks of Plum Creek. Thanks to future books and the Little House on the Prairie television series, she continued to be the character everyone loved to hate. As brought to life in fiction, Nellie Oleson protected the identities of others and allowed Wilder to create one arch-nemesis for the entire series. 

The Three Faces of Nellie begins with Nellie Owens and her family, moves onto Genevieve Masters, and ends with Estella "Stella" Gilbert. Along the way, Miller provides insight into how much each historical figure influenced the Nellie Oleson character. Readers learn details about their lives that required loads of research--clearly cited in the extensive bibliography at the end--that supports the author's belief that, "Their lives, individually, and collectively..." are worth more than simply being "one of the most iconic and enduring antagonists in literary history." 

If you are a lover of Laura and her work, you need to own a copy of The Three Faces of Nellie.

Publisher: Practical Pioneer Press

Publication date: November 28, 2016

Edition: 1st

Language: English

Print length: 140 pages

ISBN-10: 069281258X

ISBN-13: 978-0692812587

I purchased a copy of this book in February of this year. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Book Review: Laura Ingalls Wilder (DK Biography) by Tanya Lee Stone

Next month, my daughter has to read a biography for school and write a report. She was unsure whose life she wanted to learn more about, so I stopped by the library and picked up three books for her to consider. Though she didn't choose Laura Ingalls Wilder, I sat down to read the book last night while I soaked in the tub.


The DK Biogaphy of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Tanya Lee Stone is very similar to most books written about Wilder's life. The author provides a short introduction that discusses who Wilder was. Then Chapter One opens in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, where Laura Elizabeth Ingalls was born in February 1867. The book provides a very brief discussion about the Ingalls and Quiner clans before Charles and Caroline married, but the majority of the book is about Laura's life (no surprise there).

Stone discusses Pa's wanderlust and the Ingalls family's many journeys by covered wagon, until they finally settled in Dakota Territory in an area that would become known as De Smet, SD.

Chapter Seven introduces Almanzo Wilder, Laura's future husband. The author moves through Laura's years married to Almanzo, discussing the hard times that fell upon them and their decision to leave South Dakota and travel to Missouri.

Stone talks about Rose Wilder and her relationship with her mother more than in some other biographies I have read, which is nice. The rest of the book discusses Laura's writing while helping Almanzo on Rocky Ridge Farm, the beautiful house they built together, her classic Little House books, and the award that now bears Laura's name. The book even touches upon Michael Landon's classic TV show, Little House on the Prairie.

Stone provides a detailed account of Wilder's life. Adult fans won't learn anything new, but it was interesting to see the number of archival photographs. There are familiar ones of the Ingalls and Wilder families, but also pictures of the towns when they lived there and of other people, places and things from the pioneering era. I also like how there were fact boxes included on some of the pages with additional information about The Homestead Act of 1862, the railroad, pioneer teachers and more.

One tiny nitpick from page 115 states The Happy Golden Years, which was published in 1943, was about the early years of Laura and Almanzo's marriage. This book is about their courtship and ends with Laura inspecting her new home after their quick wedding. The First Four Years is about Bessie and Manly's marriage. The author mentions this book on page 119 and correctly states it is about the early years of their marriage. A young reader might be confused by this, especially if they haven't read the Little House books yet.

I was surprised I didn't have this book as part of my Laura Ingalls Wilder collection. I'll have to correct that error soon.

Reading level: Ages 8 and up
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: DK Publishing (March 2, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0756645085
ISBN-13: 978-0756645083
SRP: $5.99

I borrowed this book from the local library. I received no monetary compensation for this review.

New Laura Ingalls Wilder Title from LIW biographer John E. Miller

While searching the Internet for the cover art of Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder by John E. Miller, I discovered that Miller recently came out with another Laura Ingalls Wilder title published by the University of Missouri Press.

Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane: Authorship, Place, Time, and Culture (Dec 2008) analyzes the fascinating partnership between mother and daughter and addresses two of the most controversial issues for Wilder and Lane fans: how much did Rose contribute to Mama Bess's Little House books and how did Laura truly feel about the Indians.

For more on this title, visit the University of Missouri Press online at http://press.umsystem.edu/

Featured Book of the Month

Starting in May we are going to feature one book a month that is by or about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family. We'll begin with a short booklet by Laura Ingalls Wilder biographer William Anderson.

The Story of the Ingalls is only 43 pages long (including appendices), but it is packed with tons of information, rare photos, and a map of the Ingalls' travels. The book is now in its ninth printing.

It begins with a brief history of the Ingalls and Quiner-Holbrook families, then moves on to the years that the Ingalls family traveled, and speaks of how they came to settle in De Smet, SD. It discusses their lives in De Smet and chronicles the lives of every member of the Ingalls family. In April of 1932, the first book in the now famous Little House series was published, Little House in the Big Woods and this booklet also mentions Carrie's and Grace's writing. Strangely, this book does not end with Laura's death, but with Carrie's passing and Laura's acknowledgement to her readers that, "of all the people I wrote about, I am so far as I know the only one left."

The first Appendix includes excerpts from Grace's diary and the second Appendix has pictures of the Ingalls and Quiner-Holbrook families, along with birth dates, marriage dates, and dates of death.

I can't say I learned a lot new about Laura from this booklet, but I did learn more about the lives of the other Ingalls family members.


Other booklets by William Anderson:

The Story of the Wilders
Laura Wilder of Mansfield
A Wilder in the West (about Eliza Jane Wilder)
Laura's Rose: The Story of Rose Wilder Lane
The Horn Book's Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Iowa Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Walnut Grove Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder