The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Written by William Anderson and Laura Ingalls Wilder

Narrated by John Morgan and Tish Hicks

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 adult life of the author in her own words. Gathered from museums and archives and personal collections, the letters span over sixty years of Wilder’s life, from 1894–1956 and shed new light on Wilder’s day-to-day life. Here we see her as a businesswoman and author—including her beloved Little House books, her legendary editor, Ursula Nordstrom, and her readers—as a wife, and as a friend. In her letters, Wilder shares her philosophies, political opinions, and reminiscences of life as a frontier child. 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, her life as a farm woman, a country journalist, Depression-era author, and years of fame as the writer of the Little House books. This collection is a sequel to her beloved books, and a snapshot into twentieth-century living.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Mar 8, 2016
• ISBN: 9780062453020

William Anderson

William Anderson is a historian, educator, and author of twenty-five books of biography, travel, and history. His groundbreaking research on Laura Ingalls Wilder and her books led to many HarperCollins titles, including Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography, Laura Ingalls Wilder Country, and A Little House Sampler. He has also written for Travel & Leisure, the Saturday Evening Post, the Christian Science Monitor, and many other national magazines. Anderson is a frequent speaker at conferences, schools, and libraries. He makes his home in Michigan.

Reviews for The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder

[Laura Lane · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oh my, this was truly wonderful. It touched my heart like no other book has for some time. I first heard my teacher, Mrs. Pamela Higgs, read this to me and my fourth grade class way back during the Bicentennial celebration. Laura Ingalls Wilder caught my attention and held it raptly. I saved my allowances of fifty cents each week to buy her books, which then cost $2.50 in paperback with the Garth Williams illustrations. Mrs. Wilder was one of the most influential people in my life as I read, re-read, and asked for her books for every birthday and Christmas.

I've read several books about Mrs. Wilder's life over the last forty plus years. None touched me like The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder written by William Anderson and Laura Ingalls Wilder. I believe that this is largely because Tish Hicks read Laura's letters brilliantly. As Mrs. Hicks read, I felt that I was listening as Laura was speaking. She even started with a young voice and aged with Laura as the years passed.

It's hard to say what this meant to me. It felt a bit like closure. Something that was stirred to life in me as a ten year old has grown through the years I've learned to do myself, to make do, and make something out of nothing, and it has come to full fruition as I listened to this wonderful antholology of letters that Mr. Anderson collected and put into order then explained as each was read. She was little Laura, Laura the young wife, Laura the mother, Laura the writer, and Laura the beloved elderly author. I was little Laura, Laura the young wife, Laura the mother, Laura the writer and who knows what my future holds. I just know that I am richer for "knowing" Laura Ingalls Wilder, and that William Anderson and Tish Hicks have given a middle aged woman a great deal of pleasure.

Sincerely,
Laura Lane

Thank you Scribd for making this selection available.

[hubblegal-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a wonderful collection of personal, business and fan letters written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Each letter is prefaced by a short, insightful editorial with some background information. I’ve read everything written by Ms. Wilder and felt I knew much about her, but this book gave me an even better understanding of her life.Included are letters to her husband, Almanzo, telling him of her travels, letters to her editors including her business dealings with them, heartfelt letters to fans and what I found to be the most interesting, letters to her daughter Rose as they collaborate on the writing of the Little House books. Some of the letters include stories that aren’t included in the Little House series that Laura sent to her daughter for possible use in Rose’s fictional novels. I found it fascinating to read of Laura’s thoughts on what to include and how to edit the portions of the books she had sent to Rose for review. There are even letters from Almanzo to Rose telling her some of his own stories and letters from Rose to Laura.I hadn’t realized that the Little House series was the first multi-volume novel for children ever written. It has been a much loved series over the years and has entertained many children and adults. I read the whole series to my own daughter and now she’s reading them to her son.This is a comprehensive collection of letters and is very well edited. It was a pleasure to spend time with Ms. Wilder and her family once again. Highly recommended for those who love Ms. Wilder’s work and for any history buff.This book was given to me by the publisher through Edelweiss in return for an honest review.

[olegalca · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I wish more of the letters between Laura and her daughter, Rose, had been saved. I have a feeling there was a pretty good story there.

[tytania-2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Kind of disappointing, because the letters aren't allowed to stand on their own. Almost every one is introduced with context, often unnecessary; and worse, each one has a cutesy 'title' in italics which is a phrase excerpted from the letter. I trained myself quickly to ignore these titles. I've always found it annoying to read something in a pull-out, and then read the exact same words again.

The letters span her adult life and are chronological. It is sad to thus 'watch' her grow old.

No new revelations here for any serious fan.