The Lady and the Tycoon: The Best of Letters between Rose Wilder Lane and Jasper Crane

by Roger Lea MacBride (Editor), Rose Wilder Lane, Jasper Crane

Book by Rose Wilder Lane, Jasper Crane

Genres: Biography, History

401 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

MacBride called himself "the adopted grandson" of writer and political theorist Rose Wilder Lane, the daughter of writer Laura Ingalls Wilder, and as such laid claim to the substantial Ingalls-Wilder's literary estate, including the "Little House on the Prairie" franchise. He is the author of record of three additional "Little House" books, and began the "Rocky Ridge Years" series, describing the Ozark childhood of Rose Wilder Lane. He also co-produced the 1970s television series Little House on the Prairie.

Controversy came after MacBride's death in 1995, when the local library in Mansfield, Missouri, contended that Wilder's original will gave her daughter ownership of the literary estate for her lifetime only, all rights to revert to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Library after her death. The ensuing court case was settled in an undisclosed manner, but MacBride's heirs retained the rights.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Ma...

Reviews

[Patrick Peterson]

2020-10-12 - I read this about 30 years ago, give or take a few years. I remember enjoying it very much. The letters were very interesting between this GM executive, Jasper Crane, and this amazing woman Rose Wilder Lane. Covering many, many subjects, it was quite cool to see the different perspectives of the two.

I remember Crane, the busy executive, did not write nearly the long and detailed letters that Lane did. However, his observations were perhaps more pithy, since shorter. But both were worthwhile.

Anyone who wants to know more about Lane should check out this book at some point.

Also, I remember enjoying the comments by Lane about the editor (and Lane godson?), and LP Presidential candidate, Roger MacBride. He was bigger than life in many ways too, and I actually had the privilege of meeting him at an LPI (Libertarian Party of Illinois) dinner event one time about 35 or so years ago.

[Teri]

When I get blue over the train-wreck this country is becoming and how the constitution is being eroded away, I like to pick up this book and read Rose's letters to her entrepreneur friend, Jasper Crane. Their correspondence spans from 1946 to 1966, and as I read their letters, I realize they were fighting the same fight that we are in today. They saw the erosion of liberty and how socialism was creeping into the country. Rose (daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder) is considered to be the mother of the libertarian movement. She was a voice of warning and activist in her day. My copy is full of highlights because there are so many gems regarding liberty in here. Reading this book makes me wish I could have been penpals with her.

[Craig Bolton]

The lady and the tycoon;: Letters of Rose Wilder Lane and Jasper Crane by Rose Wilder Lane (1973)