Fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books will be thrilled to learn that 57 years after her death a new, more realistic account of her life is headed into bookstores next week. Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography was actually written by Wilder long before she penned her classic Little House on the Prairie series, but she couldn't find anyone brave enough to publish it. Now Pamela Smith Hill, writer of Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer's Life, has edited the original manuscript and added in more true-to-life occurrences.
According to the South Dakota State Historical Society, "Pioneer Girl follows the Ingalls family's journey through Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, back to Minnesota, and on to Dakota Territory sixteen years of travels, unforgettable experiences, and the everyday people who became immortal through Wilder's fiction. Using additional manuscripts, letters, photographs, newspapers, and other sources, award-winning Wilder biographer Pamela Smith Hill adds valuable context and leads readers through Wilder's growth as a writer. Do you think you know Laura? Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography will re-introduce you to the woman who defined the pioneer experience for millions."
Wilder's original Little House series was originally marketed for children but it found an older audience when the television adaptation ran from 1974-1983, just long enough for fans to follow Laura as she grew from a young girl to Almanzo Wilder's devoted wife. Pioneer Girl supposedly will introduce readers' to many familiar problems such as alcoholism and domestic violence, topics that could never be mentioned when Wilder first drafted this original manuscript.
Have you ever been a fan of the Little House series? What is it about Wilder's work that has resonated so strongly with readers' decades after her death? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
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