A Prairie: The Religious Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder (Library of Religious Biography), John J. Fry (Foreword by Mark A. Noll. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing (ISBN: 9780802876287) 2024.

Summary: The religious life of Laura Ingalls Wilder drawn from her books and manuscripts, other writings and the places she lived.

I did not discover the Little House books until reading them aloud to our son. Just thinking of that brings good memories of the three of us snuggled on the hunter green sofa bed in our guest room, working our way through the books. I particular remember reading The Long Winter through a particularly cold and long winter, and being thrilled by Almanzo’s daring journey to bring food back to the isolated small town. We loved the affection within the family and the Christian values their lives exemplified and suspected these were important to the author.

That is the conclusion held by John J. Fry, the author of this religious biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder. He maintains that for Wilder, Christian faith was important but not central. Throughout her life, there is evidence of regular personal Bible reading and prayer. Where there was opportunity, she was in weekly attendance at church, but refrained from membership. In many ways, her outlook was more stoic than Christian.

Using her memoirs, manuscripts and publications as well tracing her life through the different places she lived, Fry offers a chronological account of her life. While the focus is on the religious influences in her life and evidence for her religious beliefs, Fry does offer an extensive, if not definitive, account of her life. Until the Wilders settled in Mansfield, Missouri and became established, much of it was life on the move–Kansas, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, the Dakotas, Minnesota again, and Florida.

Surprisingly, before Laura wrote the Little House books, she was, and continued to be, a farm journalist. She translated her own experiences into columns for women in agricultural setting. Then she wrote a memoir, Pioneer Girl, but could not find anyone who wanted to publish it. Working with her daughter Rose, she re-fashioned her account into a series of children’s stories, and with rose’s help found a publisher.

In fact, one of the things we learn, and on which Fry dwells, is the role Rose played in the writing of the books. An accomplished writer herself, Rose reworked Laura’s writing, often “showing” rather than “telling.” This made the books more readable and interesting. In addition, Fry explores the influence of Rose’s religious views on the books, often comparing Laura’s early manuscripts with the published text. Rose was a deist at best, and held a less than friendly view of the church. The record is mixed. Sometimes, she strengthened the portrayal of Christianity. Sometimes the finished manuscripts were more negative. It is striking that Wilder doesn’t mention Jesus in the books, only God. What is clear was that Rose was a significant collaborator in the writing of the books. She deserves more credit than she received.

Fry considers Laura’s religious life in later years. It seems she was less involved in churches and more in fraternal organizations like Eastern Star. But she apparently kept up personal scripture reading. Her faith was characteristic of mainstream moderate Christianity, with a strong emphasis on good works of love for neighbor.

However, she did not extend that love to indigenous peoples. Fry, in assessing the afterlife of her books, notes the criticism of her attitudes toward indigenous peoples. Again, she was typical of her time, which would not be problematic, except for the popularity of her books.

Fry offers an informative and well-paced narrative of Laura’s religious life. This underscores his contention that her faith was important but not central. He also elaborates the collaboration of Rose in the Little House books and the substantial contribution she made to their popularity. None of this detracts from the portrait of the remarkable life of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.