February 2012: The Ghost in the Little House

Just starting the thread. We'll begin the discussion February 13!

Hello! Ready to talk about Rose? I said a lot- perhaps too much - in my review. I was going to give it 3.5 stars, but it barely squeaked into the 4-star category mainly because I thought Holtz did a thorough job telling us about Rose's life. I said somewhere I thought she designed the Kewpie Doll! Well, apparently she did everything but that. ;-) The Kewpie was popular in the early 1900s based on illustrations by Rose O'Neill, also from this part of Missouri. I'm glad I got that straight.

Terri, you said in your review that you didn't care much for Rose. Well, neither did I. On one hand she was intelligent, hard-working, and definitely a good writer, but she was materialistic and completely unrealistic about money. She was controlling and had a suffocating effect on people as well as her dog. Poor Mr. Bunting ran away one too many time and was hit by a car. She wasn't quite as eccentric as Emily Hahn and her pet monkeys. I did note that Rose shaved her head at one time in her life and wrote in the nude when she lived in Columbia. In her defense, the heat and humidity of Missouri w/o AC can be unbearable!

I thought the questionnaire and her responses on Page 201 was a hoot!

...Why do you go on living?
...I enjoy living.

It might be fun if we answered the questions here for each other... or maybe not. ;-)

I thought that the biography itself was well done; it was very thorough and he clearly did his research. I'm not sure I agree with the thesis I picked up from it, that RWL was the REAL author of the Little House books. It seemed pretty clear from the book that while Rose was certainly able to polish things up, and make pretty sentences, she wasn't so good with the ideas. Even her successful books were based on her mom's stories.

I ended up giving the book 2 stars, and that is almost entirely because I could not stand Rose, not even a little bit. In fact, in my challenge thread review I called her a "boring, whiny, irresponsible, annoying, untalented, manipulative, second-rate hack." I felt so bad for her poor father; he asked her to come home after he hadn't seen her (his ONLY DAUGHTER) for 5 years and she said no! And then he died. And this is Almanzo Wilder we're talking about! One of my very first literary crushes! How could she? The author did point out that she had a miserable childhood, and didn't get the love she felt she needed, but she was equally manipulative to her parents when she was older! Kicking them out of their house, into a cottage she though was cute?!?!

I have idea why Rose bugs me as much as she does. I really don't. But reading about her definitely struck a nerve. I haven't been this angry reading a book in awhile.

The questionnaire was funny, I totally agree.

Jen, it's interesting that you had such a strong dislike for Rose. Do you think it was because you liked the Little House books? At least I'm thinking you did because of your infatuation with Almonzo. I really loved those books growing up, but I guess I don't care that much about who gets the credit for writing them. I ended up thinking that the books were a collaboration berween the two women. That was a good point that Rose used Laura's ideas for much of her work. Maybe she felt entitled after her rewriting efforts?

I felt like Holtz presented both sides in a fair manner...and I stand by my statement that they deserved each other. Laura was just as manipulative as her daughter. She was pretty demanding that Rose work on her "editing" rather than her own projects...and she had Rose's dog killed by the hired man. That's when I mustered some sympathy for Rose whom I will admit was a piece of work herself.

Hmmm...wonder what Terri and Brenda have to say? I'm also not sure if Sandy has finished it. Is anyone else reading along with us on this one?

I read GitLH last week, and I have to say my reaction was pretty much the same as everyone else's. Biographies are a favorite genre for me, but I could not wait to finish this one. This was definitely because of my dislike for Rose, and apathy about the details of her life. Holtz did a thorough job of his research, but I thought the book was too long. Rose's notes, journals, letters must have been a biographer's dream, but my feeliNg about much of it was "who cares"!
I love the Little House series. The ideas for the stories were clearly Laura's, with Rose doing some very heavy editing. It might be interesting to read a biography about Laura to hear the story from her perspective (or at least, her biographer's perspective).

Having said all that. . . You do have to give the woman credit for lifting herself and her parents out of poverty. She was really pretty gutsy and put herself out there to achieve her goals. She managed to make a very good living from her writing, and I think, were it not for the market failure, she might just have made her $100,000.
I wonder what Holtz thought of Rose. . . Do you think his personal opinion of her shaped the way she was presented in the book?
What drives biographers to write about the individuals they research and write about?

I also gave it 3.5 stars. My review was:
Rose Wilder Lane was a fascinating person in her own right. The author's conclusion is that yes, she did some major editing of the Little House books. But aside from that, she was one of those women of the early 20th century who lived such interesting lives, and did some amazing things. She spent time living in Albania, she supported several children not her own, she built houses for herself and her parents. I don't know that she was a particularly likeable person, and she was extremely opposed to Roosevelt's New Deal (to the point where she refused ration cards during World War II and insisted on living off her own land). The more I read about these women, the less revolutionary the feminist movement seems to me. Feminism may have broken the boundaries set in the 40s and 50s, but the opportunities the women had who came of age earlier in the century just boggles my mind. She had no trouble making her opinions known, and I would be interested in reading some of her books. I may even read the Little House books!
Holtz had a habit of getting a little verbose occasionally, and I didn't care for Rose, but it was a good story about an interesting time in Missouri (and American) history.

I remember you saying that about the Kewpie doll, Donna, and I kept waiting for it all the way through the book! Funny.

A few more comments--I was afraid I'd lose what I had above!

I've just started reading a book called Singled Out: How Two Million British Women Survived Without Men After the First World War. I know she wasn't British, but when we look at her and Emily Hahn (and if we investigated, probably even more women of that generation), I think there may be an explanation of why they were so independent, and possibly why so unlikeable. It was a time when getting married was what you did, and if you didn't, there was such a stigma, that maybe they developed their habits as a defense.

I don't have the book with me, but I'll try to answer those questions tonight, Donna! Or maybe tomorrow--I'm babysitting tonight and don't expect I'll have a chance to do much of anything.

Funny you should say that about the authorship of the Little House books, Jennifer. I expected from the title that this was going to be the main focus of the book, and I'm glad it wasn't. It didn't really seem to matter who did the "real' writing; like you said, they both seemed to draw on the same stories. And they did seem to be two sides of the same coin--I've never read the Little House books, but I was a faithful watcher of the TV series, and I had a hard time reconciling this Laura with Melissa Gilbertson (was that her name? who remembers anymore?). Rose may not have had a great childhood, but Laura probably didn't either, not necessarily because of bad parents, but because of the poverty.

Brenda, interesting question: "Do you think his personal opinion of her shaped the way she was presented in the book?" I expected that after the first chapter or two, but as the book went on, I think he did a better job of just reporting without comment. He's an academic, and I guess they're always looking for something to write about. I'm trying to remember if he ever said why he chose to write about her.

Anyhow. I guess I had a lot to say about this one! I don't regret reading it, but I still don't like her. And did you all notice the many references to Mary Margaret McBride? We have a book about her on our list too!

Brenda, I liked your question about biographer's motives and Terri's answer that academics are always looking for something to write about. I noticed on the book's author blurb that he had a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Another good incentive!

I might read a Laura Ingalls Wilder biography someday but right now I'm bioed out! I may have to subtract half a star at the end of the month when I look at my ratings again for dryness. It's a problem I have with most biographies unless it is one of my literary or historic heroes I'm reading about.

Brenda, I'm also glad you brought that up about Rose providing for her parents. Jennifer had a problem with her moving the old folks to the cottage. I'm an "old folk" who wouldn't mind living in a small cottage with access to the big drafty old house that I used to live in. I got the impression that the farmhouse was a mess in need of major fix-up. So maybe that part isn't as bad as it sounded. I also think their relationship wasn't all that bad. Sure Rose complained about her "jail sentence" at Rocky Ridge but she went there willingly and stayed for long periods so it couldn't have been all that bad. I think it just becomes habit to complain about family members kind of like we complain about the weather or the dailiness of living.

Terri, I think you're on to something with a career being a substitute for being tied down to a family. And why not choose a career where you can travel and see the world? I'm not sure why Rose was so taken with Albania but she sure did have a taste for wanderlust. That's something else she may have gotten from her mother. Look at how many times Laura packed up and moved. Moving wasn't an easy thing to do back then either. It took them six weeks to cover the 650 miles between South Dakota and Mansfield, MO. No wonder Laura was snappish about that missing $100 bill. And no wonder Rose remembered that all her life. They were both "plumb wore out"!

Maybe before I have Keith pull the next books out of the hat, I'll remove the biographies!

I read a mention today about a book called A Good American by Alex George, an Englishman living in Missouri, about a German couple who come to the US & settle in MO. I'll have to check it out & see if we want to add it to the list. Speaking of which, are we ready to pick again for April?

ETA: It has an average of 4 Stars on LT. I'll add it to the hat!

I took the liberty of suggesting some titles on the "Missouri Readers: Next Book?" thread. I won't be offended if none are interesting to the group . . . : )

The rule is, if someone suggests it, it goes on the list. The rest is up to Keith's hands, and the vote on the three picks! Which I need to have him do soon...