A Wilder Rose in Ask Susan Wittig Albert about A WILDER ROSE

Aug 02, 2013 Katherine L rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

Brings William Holtz's academic biography of Rose Wilder Lane to vivid fictional life, telling the story of two strong women who collaborated to develop the "Little House" books.

Like many, I read and re-read the "Little House" books, and believed that they were memoir, not fiction. As I grew older, I happened on bits of debate about the extent to which the stories were exaggerated for dramatic effect, but never seriously questioned the fundamental truth of the stories. I also learned that that L ...more

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Jun 12, 2013 Sarah rated it it was amazing

Like many a young girl, I treasured the classic historical novels of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I used to read the books over and over, captivated by the descriptions of American frontier life, the optimistic themes of family togetherness and survival amid challenging circumstances, and the appealing character of spunky Laura, the author’s younger self.

And, like many other children, I had read the final book, The First Four Years, with a sense of puzzlement. It lacked the sparkle of the others. The h ...more

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Jun 20, 2013 Sherrey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-novels-women, historical-fiction

Little House on the Prairie Books – a Collaboration Between Mother and Daughter?

I checked every one out time and time again from my grade school library. The Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder could not be read enough. A touchstone to my childhood and love of the printed word, they became a part of me. Our family also enjoyed the TV series that followed some years later. Perhaps it was my desire to be loved the way Laura was loved as a child which caused my fascination wit Little House on the Prairie Books – a Collaboration Between Mother and Daughter?

I checked every one out time and time again from my grade school library. The Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder could not be read enough. A touchstone to my childhood and love of the printed word, they became a part of me. Our family also enjoyed the TV series that followed some years later. Perhaps it was my desire to be loved the way Laura was loved as a child which caused my fascination with her stories.

When Susan Wittig Albert asked if I would review her book about Laura and her daughter, Rose, I felt a thrill and a momentary glimpse into those days of reading the Little House books under the sycamore front of our house.

Previously, I had read snippets here and there along the lines of Rose assisting her mother’s writing efforts. After all, Laura was 65 when the first book was published. That fact alone made me nervous as at age 67, I’m writing my first book. However, the reason given for Laura’s need for Rose’s writing expertise was that Laura’s writing was not polished and crisp, nor as detailed and descriptive as most publishers would require.

Rose, on the other hand, had been writing for almost 20 years and was a highly successful writer. She had been published in magazines, newspapers and had even published several books by the time she returned home to help her parents.

Using Rose’s unpublished diaries and letters and her published works, together with manuscripts and printed texts of the Little House books and the biography written by William Holtz entitled, The Ghost in the Little House: A Life of Rose Wilder Lane (1993), Ms. Albert has succeeded in bringing together not only a history of the Wilders in later life and Rose’s life and friends, but also the history of the era in which they were living when Laura’s writing was most active. As a work of historical fiction, A Wilder Rose is well substantiated by the resources Ms. Albert has used.

I immediately identified with the relationship between Rose and her mother, having lived a very similar life with my mother. The tension between them is hard to delineate and place responsibility because they are each strong and spirited women, both seemingly intelligent and desirous of independence, and yet dependent on one another for affirmation and validation. How they possibly worked through Laura’s books without completely destroying their relationship is amazing!

More amazing than that fact is Ms. Albert’s completed work. A Wilder Rose is a fascinating look at the result of several years of research and writing culminating in a genuinely interesting glimpse at a family in transition due to a number of circumstances, including individual, familial and national changes. In the midst of those circumstances, Laura and Rose manage to collaborate, if you will, on Laura’s Little House series and bring to the reading public a treasured and timeless series of books well settled in our nation’s history of its people crossing to and establishing homes in the plains.

For anyone who loves Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie Books and would like to know more about the Wilders beyond those books, for anyone with an interest in the subject of ghostwriting and collaboration and how Rose pulled it all off, and for anyone who loves historical fiction, this book is a must read.

I extend my thanks to Ms. Albert for providing me with an ARC of A Wilder Rose via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Additionally, Ms. Albert has written A Reader’s Companion to A Wilder Rose, which was extremely helpful and interesting as I read the book. it was to have it alongside. Upon publication, it will be available to the public.
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Aug 15, 2013 Judy rated it really liked it

Shelves: giveaways-goodreads

As a fan of all things Wilder, I was very pleased to receive a First Reads copy through Goodreads. Susan Wittig Albert tells the fictionalized but well-researched story of the collaboration between Rose Wilder Lane and her mother Laura Ingalls Wilder. Interestingly, Albert points out that Laura was an "oral storyteller" not a professional writer; Rose's role was to edit Laura's story into publishable form. And in A Wilder Rose, Rose herself is the "oral storyteller" relating her story in a serie ...more

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Jun 15, 2013 Shirley Schwartz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: my-5-star-reads

I was given the wonderful opportunity to read this book as a galley copy. I am very grateful to Susan for asking me to read and review this book. This book is a definite departure from my beloved China Bayles series and even from the remarkable Darling Dahlias series. The book is autobiographical in nature. It focuses on the life of Rose Wilder Lane, the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder who is known for the Little House on the Prairie series of books. There has been much conjecture over the year ...more

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Sep 02, 2013 Kathy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Susan Wittig Albert is a prolific writer. I have read all of her China Bayles mysteries, her Beatrix Potter tales, and most of her Darling Dahlia series. In this historical fiction, she tells the story of Rose Wilder Lane, the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder of Little House fame. What many people do not know, however, is that Rose was the writer behind the scenes. Her mother's writing was rough and required heavy editing to be acceptable for publishing, so Rose applied her skills to the task. D ...more

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Aug 02, 2013 Carol rated it really liked it

I enjoyed reading about Rose Wilder Lane almost as much as I enjoyed the Little House books as a young girl. This book is fiction taken from fact and I kept looking for the photographs. I intend to look for "On the Way Home" and "The Ghost in the Little House: A Life of Rose Wilder Lane". Thank you Susan for reminding me of these stories and for showing me the 30's and the parallels with our times. ...more

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