If this has been a question of yours at one time or another, then this book might be for you. Many boys and girls grew up reading the "Little House" series, often times re-reading their favorite books over and over again. Perhaps, if some of us are perfectly honest with ourselves, more than a few of us will admit to having re-read a novel or two as an adult. If so, then we might have wondered just how Laura came to be a writer. This revealing biography concentrates on the secret genius of the family: Laura's only child, Rose Wilder Lane.

Many readers would be pleased to know that it was her daughter who was her editor, writing coach and writing companion. In fact, Rose Wilder taught Laura everything there was to know on the "craft" of writing and revision--often doing all the revisions to Laura's work herself. More interesting than this, is the discussion of Rose Wilder Lane's novels and how they were received.

What makes this study so fascinating, is its very simple feminism. Rose Wilder Lane wrote articles and short stories in a time period where it was near impossible for a woman to get anything other than recipes or domestic writings published.

"Ghost in the Little House" and its tale of how Rose got started in writing is an excellent statement on how the women's movement crawled about in its fetal stages. The author places us back in the time period of the decadent woman (1890's-1920's), striving to find herself in a world of powerful men. Most interesting are the discussions of Rose's life overseas and how Rose and her best friend met unusual and soon-to-be-great literary lions.

Even in Rose's early life, the details of her work first starting off in the newspaper world are inspiring. All of her work and the narration are interesting. However, when Rose started to reach middle age her tale begins to wind down. The photos of Rocky Ridge, Rose and Laura as they aged are hard to find and worth a second glance.

All in all, this is a good study, but it is not recommended for children or for those who want more of an emphasis on Laura. The sections where Rose's creativity begins to break down are often depressing and a bit difficult to read. However, it is quite interesting to note the tension that existed in the rewriting process that led to the major revisons of Laura Ingalls Wilder's work. Many of these revisons are pointed out in detail, and the author shows us that this hard work from Rose's rewrites was responsible for Laura's final publications. It could not have been possible without the strong guidance of her daughter.

The author included many references to direct letters; and more importantly, the author used quite a bit of text from the collections of Rose's private journals to support speculation on Rose's character, her relationship to her mother, and how she viewed writing as a whole.


Recommended: Yes