Little House in the Ozarks: The Rediscovered Writings

Laura Ingalls Wilder had a life besides living and writing the Little House books. In addition to the myriad duties of a farmer's wife, she was a working journalist for many years, and some of her efforts are collected here. While the themes and the style of writing sometimes seem dated now, many essays showcase wit, determination, and a sense of women's equality. She emphasizes many times how a farmer and his wife are full partners. Many gems concern the march of modernization as the twentieth century got underway. I particularly liked her question, "What happened to all the time the automobile was supposed to save us?" I ask that question about computers and cell phones all the time!

Little House in the Ozarks: The Rediscovered Writings is a collection of articles Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote in the decades before the first of her "Little House" books came out. For twenty years before her first book, "Little House in the Big Woods," was published, Laura was a regular writer of articles and essays in regional newspapers and farm magazines beginning in 1911.

Laura's skill as a writer shows vividly in these articles. Even though non-fiction aimed at an adult audience, the same style and authorial "voice" that is distinctly Laura's shows through.

Not all the articles are about her memories of childhood. We get a solid look at the adult Laura had become. She was a strong, confident women who firmly believed that women were show more equal partners of men and every bit as competent to take their places in any part of the business or political world. But, she realistically qualifies that with admonishments to women to be their own people and to learn, study, and grow. Much of Laura's advice and observations are every bit as valid and useful now as they were when she wrote them in the last century. "

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I enjoyed this but not as much as the other Little House books. She really made me want to go out and live on a farm and be self sufficient. Her praises of farm life definitely come from the heart. I liked how she made the point that farmers wives are already "liberated" when at the time women's liberation was picking up steam. She also gave some household tips that would probably also apply today.

I purchased this at the gift shop at Laura's Missouri home. Being there helped me to see Laura as an adult, and discovering this book solidified that view. Reading her works in this volume felt like getting to know the adult Laura whom we loved so much as a child. It was like meeting a childhood friend many years later and getting to find out who she became, how she matured, and what happened "in real life."

Not enough relevance even in the pieces I did read. Not polished by Rose? I dunno; I just couldn't find the patience to sit down with it, nor did I enjoy the samples I chose as most likely to interest me.

Summary: The rediscovered writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder.