Little Author in the Big Woods (12 page)

Soon Laura began to expand her intellectual activities beyond her writing. She worked to create circulating libraries and social events for farm women. In 1916, she helped found a group called the Athenians and, as a member, was involved with the creation of a country library. The group also put on literary programs about William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Mark Twain.

Meanwhile, Rose was becoming even more famous as a writer. She divorced Gillette but used his last name when she published her books and articles. She never forgot her mother's faith in her. She dedicated her book
Peaks of Shala
“To my mother, Laura Ingalls Wilder.” Rose had clearly inherited her love of words from both her mother and her grandmother. Just as Laura was influenced by her own mother, Rose was influenced by Laura. She was another link in the chain of strong, smart women in her family.

Rose continued her busy life. She traveled to Paris, to other parts of Europe, and to Asia. In 1923, after four years away, she returned home to Rocky Ridge in time for Christmas. She set up her typewriter in an upstairs room and got to work. Her plan was to earn enough money to allow her parents to retire. She also encouraged Laura to write for better-paying magazines like
McCall's
and
Country Gentleman.
Laura took her advice and was happy with the checks she received. Her career as a writer seemed to be going well. But she had no way of knowing that the best was yet to come.

In 1924, Ma died, and Laura felt her loss keenly. She noted the profound influence her early life had had on her: “The example set by my mother and father has been something I have tried to follow, with failures here and there, with rebellion at times, but always coming back to it as the compass needle to the star.” It would take a little longer, but soon those early experiences would come together in a great and glorious vision.

 

 

EIGHT

The Little House Books

1928−1957

Missouri–California–South Dakota–Missouri

By 1928, Rose was convinced that her parents were too old for farming. Laura was 61, and her father 10 years older. With Rose's urging, they hired a man to help with the work. He brought his family to Rocky Ridge and became a good friend.

Rose, who was very successful by this time, paid for the building of a new house for her parents. The brown and tan rock cottage had five rooms and was wired for electricity—no more kerosene lamps. The furniture was not handmade but ordered from a department store. And the Wilders even got a car—another gift from Rose.

Reflecting on all these things, Laura could scarcely believe the changes she had seen in the course of her own lifetime. She thought of her childhood as a pioneer girl on the prairie. It was a way of life that had completely vanished. Laura felt strongly that her experiences needed to be shared and that they were too important to be lost. So in 1930, she decided to write her autobiography.

She began with her family's move from Wisconsin to Indian Territory and ended with her marriage to Manly. Laura called her story
Pioneer Girl
and gave it to her daughter to edit. Rose made suggestions and typed up her mother's handwritten pages before giving them to her literary agent in New York City. The agent did not think a publisher would buy it. Then Rose tried sending it to a magazine, to run in installments. Again she had no luck. This was discouraging news. Laura had to wonder whether her stories would ever be published.

Finally, a friend of Rose's suggested that Laura's story might be more suited to children. So Laura rewrote it, calling it
Little House in the Big Woods.
And to her great surprise and greater delight, Harper & Brothers agreed to publish the book. It first appeared in 1932. She did not have great expectations “but hoped a few children might enjoy the stories I had loved.”

More than a few children did. The book was an immediate success. Children loved it. So did teachers, librarians, and booksellers.
Little House in the Big Woods
was so popular that Harper asked for a second book. Laura responded by writing
Farmer Boy
, which was about Manly's childhood. It appeared in 1933. Once again, it was a great success, and Laura began work on
Little House on the
Prairie
. (Many people think this was the first book in the series, but actually it was the third; it came out in 1935.) She wrote in between making meals and doing housework. She did not use a newfangled typewriter, but a pencil and lined school tablets that she bought at the grocery store for 5 cents each. And she was a serious scholar, intent on getting all the details right.

Now Laura had an even bigger idea. She wanted to do something that had not been done before: a series of books for children. It was her aim to record everything she could about her early life on the American frontier. Her publisher, Harper, thought this was a good plan. The next book in the series was
On the Banks of Plum Creek
, which came out in 1937. That same year, Laura and Manly moved back to their big old farmhouse. (Rose left Rocky Ridge for the University of Missouri, in Columbia, where she was doing historical research). They had missed it all this time. Laura set up her study off the bedroom and began planning the next books in the series.

Many people don't know that Laura's first illustrator was Helen Moore Sewell. Sewell had studied at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and was very popular at the time. She illustrated the first three books; for the next ones, she collaborated with Mildred Boyle.

Laura was becoming famous. Her editor, Louise Raymond, wanted to meet her. And she wanted Laura's readers to meet her too. Laura traveled to a book fair in Detroit, Michigan. A big crowd came to hear her speak. Afterward, she signed copies of her books and answered questions.

When she got back home, Laura began the next book,
By the
Shores of Silver Lake
, which was
published in 1939.
She and Manly also took a long trip with some friends out to the Pacific Coast and back through South Dakota (the Dakota Territory of her childhood had been made into a state in 1889). Laura wanted to revisit some of the places she was writing about.

After this trip, Laura and Manly stopped traveling. They felt they were too old. Though Laura's hair was white, her mind was still sharp. And she kept busy with chores, like cooking, baking, and churning. Laura received fan mail with letters and drawings from the children who loved her books. She enjoyed their letters, and because she did not want them to feel disappointed, she answered them all. And she kept writing:
The Long Winter
(1940) was the next book. It was followed by
Little Town
on the Prairie
(1941) and
These Happy
Golden Years
(1943).

Five of Laura's books were named Newbery Honor books (
On the Banks of
Plum Creek
,
By the Shores of Silver Lake
,
The Long Winter
,
Little Town on
the Prairie
, and
These Happy Golden Years
)

Laura earned a lot of money from the sales of her books. She and Manly were well off and no longer worried about how they would get by. But Laura was now 76 years old, and when her publisher asked for still
another book, she said no. After 11 years of steady writing, she felt she was done.

People have very different points of view about Rose's role in the creation of the Little House books. Some people say that they came entirely from Laura and that Rose provided only encouragement and access to agents and editors. Others say that Rose took the rough drafts and quietly transformed them. Still others think that both points of view contain some truth.