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Prairie Fires

the American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder
May 24, 2018TheresaAJ rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This tome (it has 85 pages of footnotes) requires a serious commitment by the reader. Fraser has written a comprehensive biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter Rose Wilder Lane. She describes the creation process for the Little House books and makes a case that it took the talents and efforts of both women to create the iconic series. Fraser also explores the social context and history during the women's lifetimes and exploits the myth that a small farmer could ever make a living by hard work and self-reliance. The book ends with a very clear picture of the difficult and tortured relationship between Laura and Rose. If you prefer the version of pioneer life described in Wilder's book, this is probably not the tome for you.