4. Daughter Dearest pt. 2: Politics and Rose

Wilder

Influential Media

Documentary, Books, Arts, History, Society & Culture

4.8 • 574 Ratings

🗓️ 29 June 2023

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Who actually wrote the Little House books? For decades this question has loomed over the series. Was it Laura, a 65-year-old farm wife? Or her daughter Rose, one of the country's most successful freelance writers? But that's not the only conspiracy theory these heartwarming, cozy books have spawned. Many people also believe they are a Libertarian fantasy masquerading as tales for children. In this episode we tackle the question: how involved in the writing was Rose, really? And how much of Rose’s sometimes extreme political ideology ended up woven into Laura’s story? And if that weren't enough, we also look into whether Rose was responsible for funding the education of two of the most powerful right-wing operatives in America. While we're on the subject of politics, did Little House bankroll a failed run for President? And, finally, how did a man Laura never met, come to control the entire Little House world? We told you Rose was complicated. Go deeper: Caroline Fraser’s Prairie FiresVisit the Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Historic Homes in De Smet, South DakotaVisit Laura and Rose’s homes in Mansfield All About Kids! episode with Roger Lea MacBride, courtesy of Hennepin County LibraryRoger Lea MacBride’s presidential campaign ad courtesy of Carl Albert Center Archives Follow us for behind the scenes content! @WilderPodcast on TikTok@Wilder_Podcast on Instagram We want to hear from you! If listening to Wilder has changed your thinking on Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Little House books, send a voice memo to wilderpodcast@gmail.com. You might be featured in our final episode ;) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is an I-Heart podcast.
0:02.5	Guaranteed Human.
0:04.8	Last week, on Daughter Dearest.
0:09.6	Rose Wilder Lane was the only living child of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her husband, Almanzo.
0:15.4	She was born in South Dakota in 1886 when Laura was 19 years old.
0:20.7	Much like Laura, Rose grew up in abject poverty.
0:24.8	Unlike Laura, Rose was able to get an education,
0:28.3	and in the 1920s went on to become one of the most successful freelance writers in the country.
0:34.1	In the early 1930s, Rose lost all her money in the stock market crash.
0:38.3	She then began to collaborate with her mother on what would become the first book in the Little House series, Little House in the Big Woods.
0:46.3	At the same time Rose was helping Laura, Rose was secretly writing her own book based on Laura's life called Let the Hurricane Roar.
0:56.7	Rose secretly sold this book to the Saturday Evening Post, and when Laura realized her daughter's
1:02.3	deception, this, not surprisingly, caused a huge rift in their relationship.
1:08.3	A rift that was only overcome when Rose and Laura were forced to revise Farmer Boy
1:12.6	together, the second book in the Little House series. Laura was so disturbed by Rose using her story
1:18.9	and then weirdly combining it with the story of Laura's parents, Charles and Caroline, that
1:24.7	sometime in the early 30s, shortly after Big Woods was published,
1:29.7	Laura sat down and wrote down her own account of what had happened.
1:33.7	She wrote it for herself and never meant it for publication.
1:38.3	We know this book today as the first four years.
1:42.5	This is where our story picks up. It's an important moment and one that would forever
1:48.8	warp Laura and Rose's legacies. But they'd never know it. The truth is, the first four years is
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Influential Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Influential Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.