Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder

by Caroline Fraser

'Just as gripping as the original novels . . . As pacy and vivid as one of Wilder's own narratives' Sunday Times

'"Little House" devotees will appreciate the extraordinary care and energy Fraser devotes to uncovering the details of a life that has been expertly veiled by myth' New York Times Book Review

Millions of readers of the 'Little House' books believe they know Laura Ingalls Wilder - the pioneer girl who survived blizzards and near-starvation on the Great Plains as her family chased their American dream. But the true story of her life has never been fully told.

Millions of readers of Little House on the Prairie believe they know Laura Ingalls - the pioneer girl who survived blizzards and near-starvation on the Great Plains where 'as far as a man could go to the north in a day, or a week, or a whole month, there was nothing but woods. There were no houses'. Her books are beloved around the world.

But the true story of her life has never been fully told. The Little House books were not only fictionalized but brilliantly edited, a profound act of myth-making and self-transformation. Now, drawing on unpublished manuscripts, letters, diaries, and land and financial records, Caroline Fraser, the editor of the Library of America edition of the Little House series,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, setting the record straight regarding charges of ghostwriting that have swirled around the books and uncovering the grown-up story behind the most influential childhood epic of pioneer life.

Set against nearly a century of epochal change, from the Homestead Act and the Indian Wars to the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, Wilder's dramatic life provides a unique perspective on American history and our national mythology of self-reliance. Settling on the frontier amidst land-rush speculation, Wilder's family encountered Biblical tribulations of locusts and drought, fire and ruin. Deep in debt after a series of personal tragedies, including the loss of a child and her husband's stroke, Wilder uprooted herself again, crisscrossing the country and turning to menial work to support her family. In middle age, she began writing a farm advice column, prodded by her self-taught journalist daughter. And at the age of sixty, after losing nearly everything in the Depression, she turned to children's books, recasting her hardscrabble childhood as a triumphal vision of homesteading - and achieving fame and fortune in the process, in one of the most astonishing rags-to-riches stories in American letters.

Offering fresh insight and new discoveries about Wilder's life and times, Prairie Fires reveals the complex woman who defined the American pioneer character, and whose artful blend of fact and fiction grips us to this day.

• ISBN10: 1250182484
• ISBN13: 9781250182487
• Publish Date: 7 August 2018 (first published 14 November 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Picador USA
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 656
• Language: English

Reviews

[lindsey]

Like a lot of little girls, I was obsessed with the Little House on the Prairie books when I was growing up. They weren't the first books I remember reading as a child, but they were my favorites from around the age of eight until I was probably twelve or thirteen. They're still some of my favorites even now. I can very clearly remember my father coming home from work one day and giving me a copy of By the Shores of Silver Lake. He'd stopped by the thrift store on his lunch hour and, knowing how much I loved to read, browsed the titles until he found one that might interest me. "I thought you'd like it." He was right.

It didn't matter that I first read them all out of order, I was still entranced by the story of Laura and her family. I eventually collected them all, not caring about the mismatched covers - some hardcovers and others paperback, some new and some purchased secondhand. I only cared about the stories, and I devoured them, reading them over and over.

It was a well-known fact that I loved the stories, and I would receive Little House on the Prairie books and memorabilia from family and even teachers.

As I got older, I still returned to the prairie often, rereading the series once a year, as well as reading biographies and her letters. As an adult, I now have a matching box set of the books, though I also still have my original mismatched set.

That being said, I was a little hesitant to read this book, the phrase "never meet your idols" floating around at the back of my mind. However, I am glad I finally gave in and decided to read it.

It was an eye-opening look at one of my favorite authors, illuminating the truth behind the books and the strained relationship between Laura and her daughter, Rose. I already knew a bit about their relationship so I wasn't completely blindsided, but I wasn't aware at just how strained it was in reality.

Caroline Fraser is an excellent writer, turning what could have been a dull biography in a lesser writer's hands into a wonderful, well-researched look into Laura's life, the good and the bad. I admittedly sometimes struggle with finishing nonfiction or biographies about historical figures because they can be so dry, but that's not the case here. Fraser gives the facts, sometimes using Laura's own words, and talks about not just Laura's life but about the history of the things going on in the world at the same time.

It adds a lot of historical context to some of the stories in the series, making it a fascinating read even if you aren't a fan of Little House on the Prairie.

It sheds light on the fact that the books weren't entirely true, a disappointing thing to find out after almost thirty years, although it's understandable why she fictionalized bits of it. It was interesting to find out the truth behind some of the changes, however, even if some of the reasons were sad.

The only thing that was slightly frustrating was how much time was devoted to her daughter, Rose, though I realize that's unavoidable since the majority of the book focuses on Laura's adult life, as well as the fact that Rose helped Laura with editing, and according to some people, writing bits of the books. By all accounts, Rose was not an agreeable person, something that's made clear here, but her inclusion in most of the book was not enough to make me lower the rating.

The book, as a whole, is a remarkable feat - spanning the whole of Laura's life and beyond, as well as her daughter's - and it's painstakingly researched. It's never dull, and I found myself not wanting to put it down, reading well past my bedtime several nights.

In short, if you're a fan of the Little House on the Prairie series and want to know more about the books or Laura Ingalls Wilder, I would highly recommend this biography.