Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by cj_mo_2222
A Wilder Rose by Susan Wittig Albert
5.0
Like many other children, I grew up reading the “Little House” books. In fact, “These Happy Golden Years”, which tells the story of Laura Ingalls’s courtship with her future husband Almanzo Wilder, is still one of my all-time favorite books. I don’t know a lot about Laura’s daughter Rose, so I was excited to read Susan Wittig Albert’s fictional account about Rose Wilder Lane and the story behind the “Little House” books. Although “A Wilder Rose” is fiction, it is based on in-depth research from biographies, Rose’s journals, and Laura’s letters between her and her daughter.
The main premise of Wittig’s book is that the “Little House” books were not written by Laura alone, and in fact would probably never have been published without Rose’s help. Wittig Albert claims it was Rose, an established author, who took her mother’s wonderful stories and edited and polished them into the books millions all over the world have enjoyed. This is apparently not a new theory, but I had never heard this and was initially shocked. However, Wittig Albert presents many examples supporting the truth of this theory that are hard to ignore.
“A Wilder Rose” is a fascinating, lively account of several years in Rose’s life and includes a wealth of historical facts about the Depression as background. I’ve visited Laura’s home and museum in Mansfield and am familiar with some of the small Missouri towns mentioned in the story. It is very interesting to see this time in history brought to life by Rose’s story. I also read the Reader’s guide made available by the author which presents the facts behind the author’s fictional account of Rose’s life. I love author’s notes that often follow the end of a historical novel and this separate companion guide is wonderful! It is as interesting to read as the novel and provides additional facts about Rose, Laura, Almanzo, and the times in which they lived.
In both the novel and the companion guide, Rose does not always come across as a warm, likeable person. However, she is clearly intelligent, outspoken, very independent, and I was surprised to read about all she had accomplished in her life. Rose is generous, but sometimes controlling, which ironically is one of the things she criticizes about Laura. In addition to telling the story behind an apparent collaboration between Laura and Rose, a large part of the book is the complicated relationship between Laura and Rose. I’m not a scholar, but I don’t know if I completely agree with the way Laura is portrayed in the book. Rose complains in her journal about how demanding and manipulative Laura is. Wittig Albert touches on this and I also wonder if this was in some ways “venting” by Rose and not the whole story. For example, Rose can come across as depressed and bitter from things she wrote in her journal, but Rose’s friends describe her as lively and fun. Similarly, I want to believe there is more to Laura than what some of Rose’s comments imply and that Rose and Laura had a better relationship than it seems from some of the events described in Rose’s writings.
Although I was a little sad to give up my idealized version of Laura and the writing of the “Little House” book series, I welcomed the chance to get to know Rose and Laura better through Susan Wittig Albert’s well-researched and well-written story. I am glad I read this enlightening view of how the treasured books about Laura’s life came to be and think other fans of these delightful books will also be intrigued by “A Wilder Rose”.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The main premise of Wittig’s book is that the “Little House” books were not written by Laura alone, and in fact would probably never have been published without Rose’s help. Wittig Albert claims it was Rose, an established author, who took her mother’s wonderful stories and edited and polished them into the books millions all over the world have enjoyed. This is apparently not a new theory, but I had never heard this and was initially shocked. However, Wittig Albert presents many examples supporting the truth of this theory that are hard to ignore.
“A Wilder Rose” is a fascinating, lively account of several years in Rose’s life and includes a wealth of historical facts about the Depression as background. I’ve visited Laura’s home and museum in Mansfield and am familiar with some of the small Missouri towns mentioned in the story. It is very interesting to see this time in history brought to life by Rose’s story. I also read the Reader’s guide made available by the author which presents the facts behind the author’s fictional account of Rose’s life. I love author’s notes that often follow the end of a historical novel and this separate companion guide is wonderful! It is as interesting to read as the novel and provides additional facts about Rose, Laura, Almanzo, and the times in which they lived.
In both the novel and the companion guide, Rose does not always come across as a warm, likeable person. However, she is clearly intelligent, outspoken, very independent, and I was surprised to read about all she had accomplished in her life. Rose is generous, but sometimes controlling, which ironically is one of the things she criticizes about Laura. In addition to telling the story behind an apparent collaboration between Laura and Rose, a large part of the book is the complicated relationship between Laura and Rose. I’m not a scholar, but I don’t know if I completely agree with the way Laura is portrayed in the book. Rose complains in her journal about how demanding and manipulative Laura is. Wittig Albert touches on this and I also wonder if this was in some ways “venting” by Rose and not the whole story. For example, Rose can come across as depressed and bitter from things she wrote in her journal, but Rose’s friends describe her as lively and fun. Similarly, I want to believe there is more to Laura than what some of Rose’s comments imply and that Rose and Laura had a better relationship than it seems from some of the events described in Rose’s writings.
Although I was a little sad to give up my idealized version of Laura and the writing of the “Little House” book series, I welcomed the chance to get to know Rose and Laura better through Susan Wittig Albert’s well-researched and well-written story. I am glad I read this enlightening view of how the treasured books about Laura’s life came to be and think other fans of these delightful books will also be intrigued by “A Wilder Rose”.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.