Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

This compelling novel takes the iconic story of Little House on the Prairie and re-imagines it from the point of Caroline Ingalls, Laura’s mother. We recommend Sarah Miller’s new book, Caroline: Little House, Revisited, now available in paperback , without reservation.

Sarah Miller chats live with Little House on the Prairie Fans: The solution, in the end, was to be both honest and gentle - as Mrs. And here I was, conjuring up things like childbirth, and the intricacies of her feelings for her husband. There were things Laura Ingalls Wilder didn’t learn about her mother’s childhood until after Mrs. What I did wonder - daily, even hourly, some days - was what Caroline Ingalls would think. I don’t expect anyone will believe me when I say that I don’t ever recall wondering what Laura would think of what I was doing, but it’s true. People have asked if it felt like Laura Ingalls Wilder was reading over my shoulder as I wrote Caroline. I did not have the audacity to imagine how supportive the Trust would be, nor how willing to peer beyond the veil of childhood nostalgia to explore the real-life territory Laura Ingalls Wilder herself chose to leave uncharted. Looking back, I wish I could sit down next to that fretful version of myself and pat her hand while she waited for a reply…then a request for sample chapters…and a decision that seemed like something out of a dream or a prayer. It took me two weeks to write that letter, and at least two more days to summon the nerve to send it. It belonged to Little House Heritage Trust. I’d set my heart on writing Ma’s story and put in months researching pioneer life - everything down to learning to crochet, wearing a corset, sewing a calico dress, lending a hand in butchering livestock and wild game, rendering lard, frying salt pork, and roasting a rabbit - without ever realizing that the decision to write this book did not belong to me. How did she do it? And what was it like to carry that responsibility? That’s the story I wanted to tell. Their distinguishing characteristic is that they tell of great adventure and hardship with great peace.” ( 1) Ma is the embodiment of that serenity. How is that possible? I suspect the answer lies in one critic’s observation that “the Little House books breathe serenity. Yet the Little House series is renowned as emotional comfort food for generations of readers. For years they struggled against poverty, disease, and the elements. And believe me, there was a lot of slack. Laura Ingalls Wilder herself admitted that Pa was “no businessman,” as well as “inclined to be reckless.” When Charles’s schemes for a better life further on failed, Caroline Ingalls took up the slack. The more I learned about the realities of the Ingalls family’s history, the more I began to realize that Caroline Ingalls was the glue that held her family together.

Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder