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 career, and dealings with family, friends, and fans as never before.
This is a fresh look at the author in her own words. Gathered from museums, archives, and personal collections, the letters span over sixty years, from 1894 to 1956, and shed new light on Wilder s day-to-day living. Here we see her as a businesswoman and an author through reflections on her beloved Little House books; her legendary editor, Ursula Nordstrom; and her readers and as a wife and a friend. In her letters, Wilder shares political opinions and reminiscences of frontier childhood. 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 and her years of fame as the writer of the Little House books. Here we see her as a farm woman, a country journalist, and a Depression-era author. This collection is a sequel to her beloved stories and a snapshot of twentieth-century living.
From The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder
February 5, 1937
Rose Dearest,
I am going to send you a day by day letter. . . . The letter will be like the dictionary, fine reading but the subject changes too often.
Looking through my desk yesterday, I found a book Ma made of writing paper. When I put it there I couldn t bear to read it, but I am having to live over those days with Pa and Ma anyway, so I did.
Ma had written some of her own poetry in it and copied some that she liked.
And Pa had written two songs. The Blue Juniata and Mary of the Wild Moor. Any time you want them, I ll send you copies. He signed the songs and the date is 1860. The whole songs are there. Blue Juniata is not much like the printed one we had when I used it in Little House on the Prairie] but it is as I remember hearing it. I have never seen or heard it anywhere else. So is the other but I have never seen nor heard it anywhere else.
Oh father, dear father, come down and open the door. But watch dogs did howl and the village bells tolled and the winds blew across the wild moor.
. . .
I can t work on my book in the evening, because if I do, I can t sleep. . . .
Lots and lots of love my dear,
Mama Bess"
