New Yorker article on Laura and Rose

Hi gang,

I read a very interesting article on the real life relationship between Laura and her daughter Rose. It sheds some light on the difficulties that mother and daughter faced in their relationship. It also talks about what the real Laura and Almanzo were like. Overall, it is a worthwhile read.

Wilder Women by Judith Thurman

Very interesting article. Having read Holtz's biography of Rose, I see a lot of references to his material. I'll have to check out the newer LIW biographies mentioned in this article. I knew about the first, but not the second one.

Thanks for sharing.

I do not agree with Rose about all things. BUT I do believe despite her saying that her mother was given the wrong daughter, God knew Rose and Laura would be right together.
I'm sure they grumbled alot, but they probably made each other better in alot of ways. I'm thankful Rose tried to care for her parents, however I don't believe she really listened to them at times.
How things might have been different if Manly and Laura's son had lived.

I first read The First Four Years as a 10 year old, and did not see this as being too old for me or badly written. I knew Laura's story up to that point, and just wanted more. I'm glad she continued to write about those years. I can only imagine the tears she must have shed while sitting at that writting desk. She shared because this was not only her story but many other pioneers as well. I'm grateful for her courage in her experiences as well as writing them.
I'm sure Rose had some imput in Laura's books, but at least she knew Laura had a unique story to share. Laura knew how to explain what she saw, she learned this helping Mary. As well as pioneers are some of the best storytellers of all time. She simply knew how to express herself, so of course she is the one behind the bulk of these stories. I agrue this point every time I hear about "The Ghost in the Little House".

http://www.amazon.com/The-Ghost-Little-House-BIOGRAPHY/dp/0826210155/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340198333&sr=1-13&keywords=mary+ingalls

I'm sure there is truth here but he was heavy handed. I never realized how much Rose did.

I've read it and wrote an extensive multi-part review of the book on my blogs. Holtz didn't convince me that Rose deserved to be listed as co-author, but the book led me to read some of Rose's work as a result.

I wont waste the money then, if the author can't back up all of what he's saying, then I'd rather not.

My main complaint about the book is that Holtz opted to discredit Laura in order to try and prove his point. In one passage, he calls Laura's writing primitive and claims that Rose was busy converting her mother's manuscript "The Hard Winter"--which would become her book The Long Winter--into publishable form. He also stated Rose had abandoned any pretense of instructing her mother. In another example, he calls Laura's work rudimentary. That is on top of making Almanzo and Laura out to be not very nice parents in parts of the book.

Then later on, he expects everyone to believe that Rose was in cahoots with the mother she couldn't stand to keep the secret from Laura's agent that Rose was doing most of the writing. A secret Rose continued after her mother's death. Why would she do that if she didn't like her mother? With the success of the books, why wouldn't she reveal herself after Laura died? Anything is possible, but how Holtz portrayed it didn't make it seem likely.

Sometimes people go way to the left or right to make a point or to help get through what they perceive is a distorted view of someone. Maybe that author is doing the same thing though...he might have been miffed that Laura was seen in such a sugar-coated way and that some fiction was becoming truth. I'm sure there is truth in what he is saying but he probably should have tempered it. I'm going to try to read some more online, they let you get a feel for the book which is nice.

I love the show for what it is,mostly fiction, and sometimes didn't want to know more about the real characters, although true, made them seem so "flawed" and not like the fictional ones. But that is real life and Little House is an escape.
If I read the book, I will seperate the two.

I reread the LH books and read some of Rose's books after reading Holtz's book. I do think there is a bit of a style change in the 3rd or 4th book which could be from Rose's influence. I doubt Rose put enough into them to be the author though. Rose's style is so dark that it seems to me it would be hard for her to write the cheerful books of LH. On the Banks of Plum Creek and Let the Hurricane Roar are pretty much the same story but they feel very different. Plus, like others have said, if Rose disliked her mother so much, why wouldn't she want everyone to know she was the real writer.

bethandmanly wrote:

My main complaint about the book is that Holtz opted to discredit Laura in order to try and prove his point. In one passage, he calls Laura's writing primitive and claims that Rose was busy converting her mother's manuscript "The Hard Winter"--which would become her book The Long Winter--into publishable form. He also stated Rose had abandoned any pretense of instructing her mother. In another example, he calls Laura's work rudimentary. That is on top of making Almanzo and Laura out to be not very nice parents in parts of the book.

Then later on, he expects everyone to believe that Rose was in cahoots with the mother she couldn't stand to keep the secret from Laura's agent that Rose was doing most of the writing. A secret Rose continued after her mother's death. Why would she do that if she didn't like her mother? With the success of the books, why wouldn't she reveal herself after Laura died? Anything is possible, but how Holtz portrayed it didn't make it seem likely.

Yes. I agree. I've read this book too, and I'm not convinced about Holz theories. Rose's writings are TOO MUCH different from Laura's one.

What chocked me a great deal was the fact he seems to hate Laura. He thoughts Laura was a cold, bad mother, indifferent wife and not interesting- at- all woman , and I disagree SRONGLY with him.

Vanesa.