Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer's Life

I've read this book over and over and there's always something more to learn in this look at Laura Ingalls Wilder's life and writing process. The author makes a serious attempt to show the real woman behind the writing of the Little House books. The research is thorough, the writing clear and fresh, and best of all, the author allows Laura to shine through her own words. A pleasure!

This was an enjoyable, non-fiction read that Laura Ingalls Wilder fans will appreciate. The excerpts from letters, newspapers, and many references paint an interesting picture of the journey to create the Little House series. It was a unique perspective to focus on Wilder's life as an author, not her day-to-day life which is well documented in other books. I also liked that it included information about Wilder's daughter and her impact on Wilder's writing. I stumbled over the author's writing style at times. The comparisons between Wilder's actual childhood and her stories sometimes read like a high school essay. And it'd be a richer read with a little more research on details from outside Wilder's immediate world, such as the market for authors at that time, who was successful, what were other popular books, etc. Last, I also thought the author worked in her own conclusions about Laura and Rose's relationship that weren't actually documented. Critism aside, I really enjoyed reading this and learning more about Wilder's experience as an author. It is a very nice addition to biographies about Wilder for adults.

This really covers the real back story of beloved author Laura Ingalls Wilder. A very interesting read.

I read this book out loud to my husband as we are both Laura lovers, and we were both fascinated. It was nice to learn the facts about how biographical the little house series is and isn't after years of hearing that it was her true story and then all the complaints that it wasn't. After reading this book, I feel that I know and understand Laura much better. It turned her from a literary character into a real woman who lived the life of a farm wife. Such facts, like the true story of the long winter, were amazing. I only felt that it sort of left Almanzo out of the picture most of the time while concentrating on Laura and Rose. In my mind, you just can't have Laura without Almanzo, and I would have liked to hear more about him. Over the years I've read everything I could get my hands on about Laura. I have also visited all the sites in her books as well as Mansfield, MO a number of times. I thought I knew all there was to know, but this book proved me wrong.

I can hardly say enough good things about this book. It's exactly the sort of Laura Ingalls Wilder biography I've been wishing for: straightforward non-fiction (footnotes and everything!) with a steady focus on Laura, giving equal weight to both the true details of her life and to her writing. As an author of children's historical fiction herself, Pamela Smith Hill gives ample insight into the craft of Wilder's writing, drawing attention to a great many elements of the structure and theme of the Little House books that I'd never put together myself. Based on those observations, Hill presents a compelling case that despite being steeped in historical and autobiographical details, Wilder's books are indeed fiction -- a personal history consciously trimmed and molded to fit the form and countours of the novel. Hill also tackles the fascinating editorial partnership between Laura Ingalls Wilder and daughter Rose Wilder Lane, pointing out with concrete examples how the combination of each woman's natural strengths and gifts contributed to the overall shape and tone of Wilder's novels. Thankfully, Hill manages to keep Rose's dynamic and voilatile personality from overpowering the second half of the book, all the while giving an uncluttered assessment of Rose's role in bringing the Little House stories to print. I have no complaints about this book. Not a single one.