Rose Wilder Lane: Her Story

by Rose Wilder Lane, Roger Lea MacBride

The daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Childrens, Biography Memoir, History, Autobiography

236 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Rose Wilder Lane (December 5, 1886, De Smet, Dakota Territory – October 30, 1968, Danbury, Connecticut) was an American journalist, travel writer, novelist, and political theorist. She is noted (with Ayn Rand and Isabel Paterson) as one of the founding mothers of the American libertarian movement.

Reviews

[Kressel Housman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little House fans who’ve carried their fandom into adulthood already know about Team Laura versus Team Rose. For those not in the know, there are scholars who argue that Laura Ingalls Wilder’s daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, was the real writer of the Little House series. But there are also plenty of Laura defenders who absolutely reject that idea. As is my wont, I took the middle of the road approach and viewed the series as a close collaboration between the two, but his book tilts me more in favor of Rose. Its storytelling style is very similar to Little House, though the subject matter is meant for a more mature audience.

This is Rose’s coming of age story, her transition from country girl to feminist of the early twentieth century. The transition comes mainly, though not exclusively, through a love triangle as Rose navigates the choices between the church-going boy from back home and the city sophisticate she marries and divorces. Feminists may applaud Rose’s ultimate independence, but it should not be overlooked that Rose had a keen nostalgia for domesticity, which of course comes through in the Little House series.

If you’re one of those Laura defenders who can’t view Rose charitably, you probably won’t like this book, but I found it an amazingly relevant story about lost innocence. You don’t have to have been raised on the prairie to appreciate it. If you’ve ever felt like a fish out of water, you’ll relate to Rose’s mistakes.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A strange book. It predicts the more recent explosion of Little House spinoffs, because the cover is clearly designed to fit in with one's 1970s collection of real Little House books, from the Garth Williams-esque (nonsensical and misleading) picture on the front down to the style and typeface on the spine. (The picture is of Rose in a hat, superimposed on a setting with log cabin and prairie etc, with a bonneted woman and a little girl, that could be taken from Little House on the Prairie. Not anything from this book.)

Supposedly it's based on Rose's letters and diaries. It covers only the years from when she left Mansfield for good until WW1--a very odd period to choose. There's no mention of anything about her life before she left Mansfield. Some of it is not factual--it has her going straight from Mansfield, with no telegraph experience, to Sacramento. Her parents are almost not mentioned at all; definitely no conflict or anything like that. The bulk of the book is about Rose selling real estate in the oil fields, or at least it feels that way. As you can imagine, these are not compelling events.

The book ends just when things start to get interesting.

Weird. Very weird.

[Katie Hilton · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book purports to be a biography of Rose Wilder Lane, only child of Laura Ingalls Wilder, based on her papers and "written" by Rose and her "grandson," Roger Lea MacBride.
It is largely fiction. I should have realized the book would be low on dates and details when Roger wrote in the introduction, "Rose know that in telling a true story presicison of detail matters not."
Roger was not kin to Rose. In reading the book, I kept searching for the name and birthdate of Rose's child, who would have been Roger's parent. Instead, Roger was informally adopted by Rose later in life, and her became her attorney and heir. Whatever.
It is interesting to students of Laura Ingalls Wilder, but not informative, and in some cases the book definitely steers the reader away from truth.

[Juliewheatcox.Net · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt that this book was inappropriately written as a children's book since it dealt heavily with Rose's bad relationships with men. It was sad to learn that she had such a hard life after leaving home. I applaud her independence of spirit that her mother & father instilled in her, and was happy that she finally found success with her writing career. But this book dealt heavily with a woman overcoming working in a man's world and the sordid ugly facets entailed. Also not a subject for children.

[Jomariem · Rating 2 out of 5]

This looked like a very interesting read when I found at a used bookstore, since I've read all of LIW's books and wanted to find out more about Rose, who is also a very fascinating figure in her own right. But it turned into kind of a disappoint for me in some respects. If you think that this book is going to be a biography about Rose's entire life (which the cover gives the impression that it is), you'll be sadly mistaken. Rather, it starts when Rose leaves Mansfield for good to start a new life of her own, and then ends sometime during the WWI period. While this book does reflect the struggles that Rose had in making a life for herself, at a time when women were not considered equals in most workplaces, and there are some rather descriptive phrases here and there, for the most part this was not exactly a great read. First off, the chapters don't seem to blend seamlessly into one another, as they should do in a good book. It's almost more like a series of separate stories from Rose's young adult life, where one chapter will end abruptly, and the next will pick up two or three years later, leaving the reader to try to figure out exactly what happened in between that time. There are no dates listed ANYWHERE in the book, so it's hard to know exactly what happened what year. There's a LOT of stuff missing that I felt should have been in there. There was virtually NOTHING about Rose's childhood, very little mention of Laura and Almanzo (after Rose leaves for California, they just seem to be added as afterthoughts here and there) and NO mention of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, which happened when Rose was in California, and was such a massive event that it would have obviously affected her to some extent. Yet in this book it's as if it never happened. As for Rose's wedding to Gil Lane, we get absolutely NO info about what kind of wedding she had, or how her parents felt about it; one chapter ends with Gil proposing to her, and in the next, she's a married woman two years later, and STILL with no info about Laura's and Almanzo's feelings about Gil. And what about the stillborn baby she had? There's no mention of HIM, either. And as for Paul, I thought his last name was Cooley, not Masters, and there's no mention of his brother, George, either. All this makes me wonder how much of the stuff in this book is real, and what has been embellished, twisted around to suit the story, or made up. This is far from being the best biography I've ever read, and I hope somebody can write something MUCH more through about Rose's life. She was a remarkable woman who deserves a more well-rounded biography.

[Rebecca]

Despite the claims made on the book's jacket, Rose Wilder Lane: Her Story, is not autobiography, nor was it compiled from RWL's letters and diaries. It is, rather, a thinly edited reissue of her 1919 novel Diverging Roads with a few names changed.

Since Diverging Roads was at least partly drawn from Lane's life, one might forgive Roger MacBride, her adopted grandson and literary executor, for attempting to pass off this update as autobiography, had he not changed the ending and thereby altered the whole meaning of the story. Her Story ends with Lane giving up her career for marriage, though MacBride notes in an epilogue that in real life, Lane did no such thing. Neither did the heroine of her original novel. MacBride's revision leaves out several wonderful passages concerning the value of female friendship and the difficult choices women faced if they wanted to have a career in the early 20th century. Lane chose to live an adventurous and unconventional life. Her story ought to reflect that.

If you really want to know what Rose Wilder Lane thought about life and love and marriage, skip this sanitized fairy tale and find a copy of Diverging Roads.

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is written by Roger Lea MacBride, who inherited her estate and claims to be her adopted grandson. He says it's based on her letters and diaries but that's a very loose claim. Only a tiny portion ends up in this book and he plays fast and loose with the facts. It is so poorly written and overblown that Rose herself would never have written such a book. She wouldn't have had as much problem with the idea of historical fiction purporting to be biography as that's what her mother's books are, but she would have written a much better book. It's such an obvious attempt to cash in on Roger's ties to the TV series, especially the odd cover of 20th century Rose in front of 19th century Laura's wagon on the prairie. I love LIW and have read many, many books about her and her family. This one should have been skipped as it was a waste of time.

[Leila Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

In an another review someone said that this is almost the exact same story as a novel Lane wrote, and that explains a lot. This is called "Her Story" but there is a lot in here that is fictional. It seems like it is just trying to capitalize on the success of the LHOTP series, although it is very different from that series. That being said, I enjoyed the book.and found it interesting, even though Rose came off as being kind of dumb.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, you can't change someone's life, but this biography left me feeling sad for Rose. Even though I know she had a wonderful career/life, I can't help but feel that she missed out on something. Interesting story about a prolific female American writer.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books. Rose Wilder-Lane was such a strong and amazing woman!

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love any book having to do with the Ingalls/Wilder families. It has always been one of my obsessions. Although this was historical fiction, I loved it all the same.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was curious how Rose's life turned out. What a shock! What a difference one generation can make! I've heard she was a great writer, perhaps I'll read a differnt book she wrote.

[Eatcelery · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting biography of her. She is so unusual compared to most other women of her time. I think I read this book before this though.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had nothing to do with Wilder Lane's parents Laura and Almanzo Wilder, but it was very engaging. The innocent Rose moves to California before WWI and begins an independant life.

[Lenora Carey]

A natural read after the Little House in The Prairie Books

[Melba · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter. I have always enjoyed the Little House books, and I enjoy reading about the real stories too.

[aarifa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmm.... When I read the books of when she was younger, she wasn't at all like this...? BUT, that book was by a different author, so I don't know if it was a fake? Strange....

[Valerie R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting focus on the man, Paul, in contrast to other biographies of R.W. Lane.

[Kirian Dass · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book’s cover belies its adult themes. This is NOT Y.A. in any sense, which makes it weird. Still it’s interesting to see what a difference a generation can make! Rose’s parents famously struggled for survival but she wants more — excitement and adventure. She finds her Little Town on the Prairie boring and stultifying, as does her beaux, Paul. He leaves for California and she follows after registering at a Telegraphy School (Telegraphy was the equivalent of IT in the early 20th century) which proves to be a sham. She innocently lodges in a whorehouse and suffers from isolation, loneliness, and poverty as she struggles to survive as an Independent working woman. In this milieu she gets swept up in the Party culture and meets an attractive proto PUA f*boy daytrader who marries her but continues to cheat and flake out on her, eventually abandoning her after his shady business schemes go awry. This abandonment spurs Rose to become a Real Estate agent but in the end she longs for the domesticity of a life with Paul. However, an abrupt afterward informs us that Rose didn’t marry Paul but instead became a famous journalist who travelled the world.
I’m not sure how much of this is true but I found the story quite interesting

[gracepalm · Rating 5 out of 5]

ok i don't usually write reviews, but i feel like i have to justify 5 stars for this one lol. i'm fully aware that it's a *fictionalized* autobiography and that it's lacking in a lot of specifics. even so, i really enjoyed it, as it was realistic (barring the lack of historical detail, which was expected after the introduction), and highlighted the ups and downs of life. the plot itself was great, and i suppose giving it 5 stars shows that i read it more as a *story* instead of purely an *autobiography*. in that sense, i agree that the title is indeed misleading, but again, that is acknowledged in the introduction. anyway, there's my justification 0=)

[Della · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I thought it would be. It concerned Rose’s life after leaving her parents’ home, a disappointing romance with Paul and then an even more disappointing marriage with Gillette. It took me a long time to read as it held no interest until the last quarter of the book when Rose finally took her life into her own hands and stopped relying on a man. I fully understand her dependance on men as that’s what was expected in those days. I’m happy to have read the book but also happy that it’s finished.

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unexpected delight. It's not a memoir but fiction based on her life, kind of like her mother's books, except instead of a little girl growing up on the prairie, it's about a young woman from rural Missouri running off to California and getting swept away in the party scene. Riveting.

[Addison Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not what I expected after having loved and read all of Laura Ingalls Wilder books. However, this book shows the contrast of how one grows up and what they do with their upbringing as they adventure on in life after leaving home. Very intriguing and captivating. Fun language and history within in.

[tyRonE hArDing · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not good. Focuses on barely her story.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have enjoyed an actual biography better. This is mostly a convoluted story of an abusive relationship.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly tragic.

The cover of the book is all wrong.
Should be read by an older audience than one may think.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be a downer. Rose seems to make one bad choice after another. And I was startled that a book set in and near San Francisco would completely ignore the great earthquake in 1906. The whole tone of the book seems to struggle between admiring Rose for making it in a man’s world, and disapproving of it “she was so hard” at the same time.

The book was not written by Rose, but by Roger Lea McBride based on notes by Rose.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sad.

[Cws]

J92 Wil