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Prairie Fires

The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
The first comprehensive historical biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the beloved author of the Little House on the Prairie book series 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, and the woman who wrote the famous autobiographical books. But the true story of her life has never been fully told. Now, drawing on unpublished manuscripts, letters, diaries, and land and financial records, Caroline Fraser-the editor of the Library of America edition of the Little House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. Offering fresh insight and new discoveries about Wilder's life and times, Prairie Fires is the definitive book about Wilder and her world. Author bio: Caroline Fraser is the editor of the Library of America edition of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books, and the author of Rewilding the World and God's Perfect Child. Her writing has appeared in The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times, and the London Review of Books, among other publications. She lives in New Mexico.
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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Christina Moore's straightforward delivery nicely suits this in-depth exploration of Laura Ingalls Wilder's life, family, and famous Little House books. Avoiding theatricals, Moore injects her performance with energy and enthusiasm appropriate for Wilder's fans who are eager to learn more about the beloved author. The audiobook is divided into parts, starting with a factual account of Wilder's childhood; the following sections detail her roles as wife, mother, and author, ending with her legacy. Moore skillfully handles the two principal challenges of this audiobook: She keeps listeners engaged as the author places Wilder's works into the wider context of American history and, more important, remains neutral when the audiobook exposes the less likable characteristics of Wilder's relatives, including her father, Charles Ingalls, and, especially, her daughter, Rose. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 11, 2017
      The autobiographical Little House on the Prairie novels by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957) occupy a curious space between national mythology, self-reinvention, and truth, as this overlong but engrossing biography from Fraser (Rewilding the World) makes clear. Lovers of the series will delight in learning about real-life counterparts to classic fictional episodes, but, as Fraser emphasizes, the true story was often much harsher. Meticulously tracing the Ingalls and Wilder families’ experiences through public records and private documents, Fraser discovers failed farm ventures and constant money problems, as well as natural disasters even more terrifying and devastating in real life than in Wilder’s writing. She also helpfully puts Wilder’s narrow world into larger historical context, showing that the books’ self-sufficient farmers were more dependent on federal assistance than Wilder depicted in her novels. Wilder’s daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, emerges as an integral character in her mother’s later life. Lane, a professional author in her own right, vigorously edited her mother’s manuscripts, though Fraser debunks the myth that Lane ghostwrote the books. But their relationship was a fraught one, and Fraser paints an unflattering portrait of Lane’s dishonesty and descent into right-wing paranoia. She concludes by examining Wilder’s pop cultural legacy. Fraser’s exploration of Wilder’s life opens her subject to new scrutiny, which, for Wilder’s many fans, may be both exhilarating and disconcerting.

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  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

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  • English

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