Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser Due out November, 2017 - I read a galley.  640 pages

This book, written by the editor of the Library of America edition of the Little House books, is  a thoroughly researched biography of not only Laura Ingalls Wilder, but of her daughter, Rose.  Using unpublished manuscripts, letters, financial records and more, Caroline Fraser gives fresh insight into the life of a woman beloved to many, and whose life everyone has known about through the Little House books.

I found this book to be fascinating.  I had recently re-read the Little House series, surprised that I found it on the shelves in the Fiction section. Now, after reading this book, I understand why the books were shelved in fiction because they aren't true nonfiction, but are more like historical fiction, based on true events and people, but not purely factual.   I really appreciated that the author did so much intensive research because while this book is very readable (i.e. not dry at all), there's a lot of information here. I liked that in addition to telling the story of Laura and her family, the author added a lot of historical information, so that you can put things into context when you're reading.

I found I was surprised by a lot of things, as well. I was aware that there was some speculation about Laura's daughter, Rose, really writing the Little House books, but I didn't know any more than that. After reading this, I have a much better understanding of their mother-daughter relationship and really learned quite a bit about Rose.  No spoiler about how much influence Rose had on the Little House books.  But a spoiler of a different sort --- Rose is not a great person. I was surprised by how awful she was in real life.

I suppose it's easier to imagine that these people are just like in the stories, but in a way, I found the real stories of them to make them much more compelling. Laura's books sometimes tell of how gritty her life was a child, but reading this book and understanding more about that period in time in the United States gave me more of an appreciation for her parents and how they kept their family together (and alive).  Definitely a fascinating read, and one that I plan on reading again --- maybe the next time I re-read the Little House series.   Great book!