The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder audiobook

I ended up reading the whole thing over the course of about three days. It was fascinating and encouraging and wonderful.It was fascinating because of how well I feel like I got to know the woman behind the books I've loved basically all my life. These letters start in 1894 and go 1956, and they are staggeringly varied. Some are to friends, some to her husband Almanzo, some to her daughter Rose, some to perfect strangers who sent her fan mail. The ones I liked best were the ones to children who wrote her about her books.It was encouraging because she struggled so hard with writing By the Shores of Silver Lake, which is my favorite of her books. I'm struggling with the book I'm writing right now, and knowing that I'm not the first writer to struggle with a book that's a ways into a series is a comfort.It was wonderful because Laura Ingalls Wilder was such a sweet, tart, friendly, shy, intelligent, obstinate, REAL person, and you get that sense of her from these letters. I'm so happy I read this book. I might have to get a copy of my own.

I received an uncorrected proof copy of this book from HarperCollins. This book contains several hundred of the letters written by Laura Ingalls Wilder that have been maintained in public and private collections. They span her life from 1894 through 1956. Although Laura was one of four Ingalls daughters, she was the only one that had a child and her daughter Rose left no living children. "With no interested descendants around, great segments of the family's written records vanished" (xvi). Although many of Laura's letters have been lost, this selection of those that do remain provide a snapshot of the woman behind the beloved Little House series of children's novels. Indeed, the majority of the letters included in this collection are those that she wrote in response to her many fan letters. After their deaths, the extent to which Wilder's daughter Rose Wilder Lane assisted with her mother's writing process has become evident. This collaboration is evident in the letters, as many of Laura's letters are to her daughter and discuss the books in detail, including anecdotes to include or remove and how to shape the flow of the plot. Her letters also reveal how Wilder researched her novels, writing others to confirm her childhood memory of locations and settings. This behind the scenes look at the writing process was interesting to me as a fan of the original novels. I was moved by how dedicated Laura was up until her final years in attempting to respond to the majority of her fan mail. She spent hours personally writing children responses to their questions and thanking them for reading her books. Laura even welcomed visiting fans to her home and would happily give them a tour of her house. Aside from declining invitations to speak as her age advanced, Laura comes across as a gracious recipient of her many fans' adoration. It was also sweet to see how close Laura and her husband Manly seem to have been. Just as in her novels, their marriage can be summarized by her words "It was a carefree, happy time, for two people thoroughly in sympathy can do pretty much as they like" (257). This book is an excellent companion piece to follow Pioneer Girl, the autobiography written by Wilder before she went on to become a bestselling fiction writer. Having just recently read this earlier work, which ended with her marriage, it was perfect to continue on and see her adult life and her life as an author from the perspective of her letters. Together, the two works give almost a full autobiography of Wilder's life, in her own words. The editor did an excellent job of compiling the letters and providing background information as needed for the reader. At times it may have been helpful for the reader to have seen the letter that Laura is responding to, although that would have greatly lengthened the book. This is a valuable inside look into the life of a beloved author. In her contact with her fans, the real Laura maintained the central themes that young Laura from her novels always impressed upon her readers: "It is always best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures, to be cheerful in adversity and have courage in danger" (301).

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.

Anyone who read Pioneer Girl will also want to read this book. To all the fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder, this collection of her letters adds to the ever expanding question of 'how much of her Little House books were real' and also gives you a different perspective on the life of this beloved author. As the book begins Anderson gives a good background of where these letters came from and why there are not even more. As someone who has cleaned out my parents' house and also feel the need to finally start throwing out many of my own old letters, many of Laura's letters, especially to her family, were just thrown out as her relatives died. She never went back home when her mother died and a lot of things were just thrown away. Unfortunately, her daughter Rose also felt the need to get rid of a lot of her mother's letters and also her own to her parents immediately after her mother died. Luckily the timely interference of the local townspeople eager and willing to turn Laura & Almanzo's house into a museum saved some of the letters as well as the Wilder's possessions. You certainly get a much better understanding of Laura's relationship, both personal and professional, with her daughter Rose. As with all parent/child relationships it had its ups and downs but basically it was a good one. The one letter that had me laughing out loud as well as thinking that some things are the same for everyone, was the one Laura wrote Rose before her and Almanzo's last trip to De Smet, SD. She informed Rose where the key to her safety deposit box was and other instructions - just in case! They were in their 70s & 80s at this time so it's understandable but still amusing. I certainly didn't realize what a Libertarian Rose was as well as her parents, well at least Laura -- you don't get a lot of information about Almanzo although there are a couple of letters that he wrote Rose which are included. Many of the letters are those that she wrote fans of her books and these do start to sound quite similar which is to be expected. And for those history fans who like to know how life was in an earlier era, these letters are a treasure of the early to middle 20th century -- an excellent Thanksgiving meal could be had in the 1930s for 40 cents! This book will definitely have an audience and they won't be disappointed.

We tend to forget that Laura Ingalls Wilder became a children's book author by accident, in her 60s, after deciding to turn the stories she remembered her father telling her when she was little into a book with the help of her then much more famous daughter, Rose Wilder Lane. And we also tend to forget how very important letter-writing was as a means of communication in the 1920s and 30s and later. This books collects letters Laura wrote to Rose, discussing the books and the goings-on of her daily life, and later replies written to schools and fans. It is a one-sided snapshot into the life of one of America's favorite authors, and also an excellent companion book to "Pioneer Girl" (which is fascinating in itself and which I also recommend to anyone interested in biography or the Little House books).

I was slightly disappointed because these start pretty late in Laura’s life, but it was interesting to see her writing process and how she worked with her daughter Rose while writing the Little House series. At the end, the letters were a bit tedious, because she is a crotchety old lady and complaining about how she can’t go anywhere.

The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder is a must read for all who love the Little House on the Prairie books! It was such a pleasure to get to know Laura by her own words and I found the adult Laura to be just as charming, intelligent and witty as she described herself as she was portrayed as the little girl in the LHP books. William Anderson has done a fantastic job of compiling the letters for this book and the necessary notes needed to help the reader understand a specific letter are short and to the point. I found they really help to enhance the reading experience and it in no way hinders it.The book is divided into six different periods of Laura's life ~ The Farmer's Wife, The Emerging Writer, A New Enterprise, Star of the Children's Department, The Last Golden Years and The Author of Classics. The end result? A wonderful view into the person Laura Ingalls Wilder was as an adult and written by her own hand! I also gained a much better understanding of all that went into the process of Laura (and Rose's) creation of the LHP books. I highly recommend this book and I give it a 5 STAR rating!Thank You to Harper Publishing and Edelweiss for the gift of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book to be very endearing, most written in Laura's own words/letters. It shows us a personal picture of her adult life, after she and her family left De Smet, for Missouri. You see a principled woman, wife, mother and author. I enjoyed this book much more than Pioneer Girl, which left me feeling a bit cynical, telling stories behind the books and writings that I thought were too much information. I love the Little House books beyond telling and they were a huge part of my childhood. I played Little House so much that my dad and Grandpa built us a life sized covered wagon that we could camp in and could be towed behind a car. This was a fitting to the Laura Ingalls Wilder books for me, as an adult.

As a young girl, I thoroughly enjoyed Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House book series...and I enjoyed sharing it with my children as well. This collection of letters compiled by William Anderson gives readers a glimpse into Laura's life after the books. I enjoyed learning a little more about Laura's adult life, her travels and her involvement in her community, all told with her beautiful prosaic style. I received a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

I absoloutely adored this book but I think its one for fans of Laura. The letters were great insights to a collaborative and loving relationship between Rose and her mother. It was lovely to see the regard Laura held her fans in as she tries to reply to every peice of fan mail herself. I dont think I realised quite the level of input Rose had in contributing to the books but it was great to read the conversations and discussions between them.

The compiler does a very nice job bringing Laura's everyday to life thru these last largely unpublished letters showing us her evolution from farm wife to author. Of particular interest were the letters written to Almanzo while driving with her daughter and a friend from Missouri to California.

A very good book indeed. Very interesting letters to and from my childhood favourite author.

A sweet collection of letters to and from our beloved Laura Ingalls Wilder. Though her books were mostly for children this collection would probably be better enjoyed by adults.