I did enjoy the letters from your pupils so much and if they are still with you or have passed to a higher grade, will you please give them all my love and best wishes.
With kindest regards I am yours sincerely,
(Mrs.) Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Tipton students wrote again.
DECEMBER 19, 1933
Dear Fourth Grade Teacher & Pupils,
It pleased me very much to hear from Tipton School’s Fourth Grade again and I am so glad you liked my “Little House in the Big Woods.”
It was a tiny house in a great Big Woods, Hilda as you say and it was a very nice home as you said Nadine Jane.
Yes Donald! I made candles when I was little, or I should say, I helped make candles. We made them just as Almanzo did in “Farmer Boy,” only not so many.
Richard! You and Donald must like to have bad boys punished, for you both were pleased with the story of the bees stinging Charley. Well he did deserve it I think.
I haven’t another pioneer book published yet Eloise, but I am writing one for next year all about Mary and Laura when they lived where there were many Indians in Indian Territory, which is now Oklahoma [the actual location was southeastern Kansas] in your geography.
Marilyn! I am glad you found “Little House in the Big Woods” so interesting.
I thank you for all your nice letters and hope you will all like Farmer Boy. The farmer boy was my husband, Mr. Wilder, when he was a boy and he did . . . all the things I have told about in the story.
Dear Miss Masden, I appreciate your letter too and am sorry not to write a separate letter to each one of you. But I am not very strong and writing letters is a task for me just now.
Please give my regards to last year’s Fourth Graders and tell them they must keep right on climbing up to higher places. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year, I remain
Sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
We would like to drive again to De Smet
In this letter Laura mentions Rose’s nervous breakdown to Aubrey Sherwood, but not its actual cause. Rose felt trapped by rural isolation on the farm and felt far removed from stimulating companions. Her money woes were never ending. Plagued by physical ills and mental depression, she spent an unproductive year, struggling for equanimity.
JANUARY 15, 1934
Dear Mr. Sherwood,
Your letter came as a pleasant surprise. Mr. Wilder and I often talk of our visit to De Smet and we never seem to be able to get over a homesickness for the old home, or perhaps it is more for the old ways.
Once in a while I have a clipping of your paper from Carrie or Grace and have been intending to write you thanking you for your kindness in mentioning Rose and myself as you have done. But the days slip by so fast and are so full of many things.
Rose hasn’t been at all well for a year now, a nervous breakdown caused by an attack of the flu. Which will account for her neglecting to reply to your letter.
In regard to her book “Let the Hurricane Roar” I think there is nothing particular to say. [In reality Laura was greatly offended by the novel, which was originally a 1932 serial in the Saturday Evening Post. She resented the use of family names and history, which she planned to utilize in her own writing.] It is of course fiction with incident and anecdotes gathered here and there and some purely imaginary. But you know what fiction writing is.
The publisher is Longmans, Green and Company, New York.
Mr. Wilder and I are about as usual only we do grow a year older every year.
We often say we would like to drive again to De Smet as we have always felt our visit there [1931] was cut short. And one of these days we may do so. [They made two more South Dakota trips, in 1938 and 1939.]
The Ozarks are well worth seeing and I am sure you would enjoy a trip over them. Later, when our National Forest is located and put in order, they will be even more beautiful.
With best regards I remain
Sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I cannot be of much help in tracing relationship
FEBRUARY 6, 1934
My dear Mrs. Dalphin,
Your letter was a pleasant surprise, but I am afraid I cannot be of much help in tracing relationship.
My father was Charles Philip Ingalls and he was born in New York State, but I have no idea of the county. Neither do I remember what my Grandfather Ingalls was named.
I have heard my father tell the same story as you do of the three brothers who came from England, so no doubt we have those remote ancestors in common. [Laura referred to Jonathan Ingalls’s three sons: Samuel, David, and Jonathan. Samuel was Laura’s great-grandfather.]
There are Ingalls relatives somewhere in New York, who have the history of the Ingalls family from the time of the three brothers from England down to the present time so far as they have been able to trace the descendants. But unfortunately I do not know the names or address.
They came to see my father after I left home and though Father wrote me of their visit I have forgotten all except they were bringing the family down to that time and had come west looking up connections.
My sister might be able to give you their address if you care to write to her. Her address is: Mrs. D. N. Swanzey, Keystone, South Dakota.
Father’s brothers were named James, Peter and George. [A fourth brother was Hiram.]
My father’s children are three daughters, Carrie Ingalls Swanzey, Grace Ingalls Dow (Mrs. N. W. Dow, Manchester, South Dakota) and myself. The oldest sister, Mary Ingalls, died several years ago.
My sisters have no children and I have only one, Rose Wilder Lane, of whom you may have heard as she is a writer of some prominence.
My father’s brothers married and there were numerous children, but I have not kept any trace of them and do not know how many or where they are.
With sincere regards, I am
Laura Ingalls Wilder
An all too small income
Ida Louise Raymond forwarded copies of reviews, explained lagging book sales due to the Depression, and commiserated over Farmer Boy’s skimpy royalty rate. Her letter of March 12, 1934, mentions that “I can’t tell you how eager I am to see who has followed this time in the foot-steps of Laura and Almanzo.”
MARCH 16, 1934
Dear Ida Louise Raymond,
Many thanks for the clippings on Farmer Boy, just received. They seem to me very good.
Will you please let me know how the book is selling and also if Little House in the Big Woods is still selling well. I am anxious to know how they are going, both as a matter of sinful pride and as a hope of addition to an all too small income.
Your assurance of a better contract for my next book is gratifying, for, frankly, I am not at all pleased with the one for Farmer Boy.
The new book is ready for the final typing before sending it to you. Like the others it is a true story. I think I will name three of the titles I am considering for it and leave the rest to your imagination until you see it. They are—Indian Country, (On) the High Prairie and Pioneering in Indian Land.
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Your letter was a regular budget of good cheer
Excerpts from Little House books were reprinted in elementary reading texts and anthologies, generating extra income and readers. Child Life and St. Nicholas magazines published lightly rewritten chapters from Farmer Boy, Little House on the Prairie, and On the Banks of Plum Creek. Use of Laura’s stories became entrenched in elementary education; this use has continued into the twenty-first century.
JUNE 23, 1934
Dear Ida Louise Raymond,
Your letter regarding Scribner’s reprint of parts of Little House in the Big Woods has been received and I do thank you for the trouble you have taken. Will try to get a copy of “Childhood Reader.”
I am certainly pleased that you have had other requests for selections. Your letter was a regular budget of good cheer.
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I hope Farmer Boy may be as popular. Many good short selections could be made from that book also. There are several chapters that would make good short stories if used separately.
Anyway, Hurrah for Little House, may its sales increase.
Again thanking you, I remain
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I do hope you will like the story
JULY 2, 1934
Dear Ida Louise Raymond,
I am sending you, by express today, the manuscript of my book. Not being able to decide on the title I am enclosing a list of several so you may make the choice. [See the list in Laura’s March 16, 1934, letter.]
Like the Little House in the Big Woods and Farmer Boy, it is all true and like “The Little House”—it is written from my own memories of what happened to us and how we lived, three miles over the line from Kansas, in Indian Territory in the years 1870 and 1871.
I do hope you will like the story.
With best regards, I am
Sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I would like to have a report
AUGUST 14, 1934
Dear Ida Louise Raymond,
I hope you will not think I am too impatient but I would like to have a report on my manuscript.
My next story, On the Banks of Plum Creek, is beginning to shape itself and as it is quite different in setting and incident, it bothers me not to have my mind free from “Indian Country.” . . .
Making me safe from complications
The use of song lyrics in Little House on the Prairie prompted Laura’s agent, George Bye, to secure releases prior to finalizing the book’s contract. Bye suggested: “Why should I not obtain from Harpers a statement that they have looked up the [song] titles . . . and that they are satisfied that these are all in the public domain . . . ?”
NOVEMBER 23, 1934
Dear Mr. Bye,
Please secure for me from Harpers, release of responsibility in copyright of songs used in Little House on the Prairie, as suggested by you in your letter of the 20th. It is a fine idea for making me safe from complications.
Very sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Much larger than the bulldogs I see now
JANUARY 14, 1935
Dear Miss Raymond,
The dog in L. H. on the Prairie is the same dog that was in The Little House in the Big Woods.
Pa always called him a bulldog and I remember he looked like one but was much larger than the bulldogs I see now. He was so large that I used to ride him when I was four years old if I was going with Pa and Jack and it was too far for me to walk. So he must have been a large dog but he had all the characteristics of a bulldog and looked like one.
Perhaps the breed was larger sixty years ago. I am glad the illustrations promise so well but of course they will be beautiful if Miss Sewell does them.
Sincerely,
L. I. Wilder
I am sure you will like Little House on the Prairie
Tipton, Iowa, children anticipated new Little House books. Early in 1935, their teacher inquired about the publication of Little House on the Prairie. “My pupils are interested in you personally,” she said. “They ask dozens of questions. . . .”
FEBRUARY 12, 1935
Dear Mrs. Walsh & Sixth Grade Pupils:
It was a pleasure to have all your letters and to know that you liked Farmer Boy.
Yes, Almanzo grew to be a very good farmer. Has been a farmer all the years since his father gave him Starlight and he has always loved horses.
As you have heard the letter I wrote to the 4th grade, you already have most of your questions answered.
Someday soon I will write a story about when Laura and Almanzo met away out on the frontier in Dakota Territory before it was divided into two states. But before that time many interesting things happened to Laura.
After you read Little House on the Prairie, I hope to have another book ready for you. I think I shall call it On the Banks of Plum Creek. Would you like that? I am sure you will like Little House on the Prairie which will be published early next fall. I am sorry it will not be so large as Farmer Boy.
Perhaps you will be interested to see the enclosed snapshot of Laura, Almanzo and their Airedale, Nero. This was taken five years ago but it is the only one I have. We haven’t changed except that my hair is whiter. No, we are not shamed of anything. We are just looking down at Nero trying to keep him still and we were snapped unexpectedly before we could look up. We are standing on the terrace by our rock house where we live, just the two of us with our dog Nero.
Rose Wilder Lane, our daughter lives on the other end of the farm in a larger house. You may have read some of her stories for she writes a great many for the different magazines, often the Saturday Evening Post.
Very best regards to you all,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I have already written another book for the children
Children and adults realized that the books were about real people, and many of their letters inquired about the characters.
[NO DATE, 1935]
My dear Miss Pettis,
It was a pleasure to have your kind letter and of course I will answer the children’s question.
The Aunt Eliza of Little House in the Big Woods was not Eliza Jane of Farmer Boy. The only relationship between the characters of the two books is that when Laura and Almanzo grew up, they met, away out in South Dakota. They married and “lived happily ever after.” Laura was myself when I was a little girl and Mr. Wilder was Almanzo.
I have already written another book for the children which will probably be published next fall. It is a story of pioneering among Indians and wolves. Mary and Laura are there, and I feel sure the children will like it.
With best regards to you and your pupils, I remain,
Yours sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
I am sure we will get a good review
John Neihardt, the author of Black Elk Speaks, settled in Branson, Missouri, in 1930. Among his interests was pioneer migration, which explains Laura’s determination that he receive review copies of her books.
APRIL 22, 1935
Dear Miss Raymond,
I have just learned of Mr. John Neihardt, book reviewer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He carries a lot of weight in Midwestern book trade and is intensely interested in pioneer things and in Indians. He has never seen any of my books.
If you will send me a copy of Little House in the Big Woods I will personally place it in his family and with the way thus prepared I am sure we will get a good review for Little House on the Prairie when it comes out.
Please be sure to see, when the new book comes out, that a copy of it goes, for review, to Mr. John G. Neihardt, Branson, Missouri. . . .
It is a wonderful book
Laura and Manly took short trips through picturesque areas in Missouri to celebrate their fiftieth anniversary on August 25, 1935. After sightseeing in the Lake Taneycomo area and the resort towns of Hollister and Branson, they arrived home to discover the first copies of Little House on the Prairie in the mail.
SEPTEMBER 26, 1935
Dear Miss Raymond,
Your letter of the 11th and the copies of Little House on the Prairie are at hand. They came while I was away from home which explains my delay in writing you.
I am glad that you are pleased with the latest Little House and I think, myself, that with Miss Sewell’s illustrations and the makeup and all it is a wonderful book. It surely does take Helen Sewell to bring my stories to life. [Sewell received a flat fee of $200 for the art used in the book.]
Please send me three more copies of Little House on the Prairie and charge to my account.
Thanking you for your good wishes, I remain
Sincerely,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
It was dear of you
Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980) accepted Little House in the Big Woods f
or publication, but left Harper & Brothers when the children’s book department she created was placed on economic hiatus. She went on to found the influential magazine Kirkus Reviews. Her support of the Little House books continued unabated with each volume published.
NOVEMBER 30, 1935
Dear Miss Raymond,
Thanks so much for the Times review and Virginia Kirkus’ review of L. H. on the Prairie. It was dear of you to send them.
The two books ordered arrived today.
With kindest regards,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Altogether too good to be lost
Alvilda Myre Sorenson knew members of the Ingalls family well. She passed their house going to school, chatting with the blind Mary as she sat on the porch. After college, Alvilda married Hans Sorenson. They endured the tragedy of their daughter Nancy’s deafness, teaching her to speak and function successfully in school. Reading was important to Nancy, including each new Little House book. The Sorensons treasured their autographed copies.
DECEMBER 13, 1935
Dear Mrs. Sorenson,
It was a pleasure to have your very interesting letter today and I hasten to reply.
I have ordered The Little House in the Big Woods for little Emily Ann [a playmate of Nancy Sorenson’s] and as soon as received will autograph it and send it to you.
As we have no bookstore here I was obliged to order from Harpers and it will be some time for the book to reach you. We live in the country on a rural route and time is lost between mails, but I will be as soon as I can.
If you ordered a book from Harpers and asked them to forward it to me to be autographed I feel sure they would do so. I would autograph it and send it to you. That, I think would be the simplest way to handle the copies you may want to get.
The Selected Letters of Laura Ingalls Wilder Page 8
