Laura Ingalls Wilder 
(1867 - 1957)

American author of her own biography described in the 'Little House' series was born in 1867. 

Her earliest memories are narrated in the Little House in the Big Woods where she described their life in Wisconsin where her family lived in a small wooden house. The style of the book is very simple, almost naive but the images of their life are depicted with astounding punctuality. The big role in all her stories plays her father, usually called Pa.

In the second book, Little House on the Prairie (1935), family move westwards in a wagoon. After all sorts of adventures (including dramatic river-crossing they settle on Indian territory and build a house there. Yet the government claim they must leave the area and they have to move again. In On the Banks of Plum Creek Ingalss family get to Minnesota where Pa starts working as a farmer. 

Soon afterwards they have to move again - this time they go to Dakota (By the Shores of Silver Lake - 1939) and the family have to face new difficulties; Laura's sister Mary is blind as the consequence of scarlet fever and their father has to work at a railway camp.

Probably the most popular book of the series is The Long Winter (1940), describing seven tough months during which Ingalls family fight to survive - their town is cut off by snow and they have to cope with it. It gets so far that they have to burn hay and eat grains of wheat to keep themselves alive.

During the series, Laura is growing up. In Little Town on the Prairie (1941) she is already preparing for her profession of a teacher. She meets Almanzo Wilder and their relationship is also described in the story (although Almanzo's adventures and life is depicted in Farmer Boy - 1933). The last book of the series, These Happy Golden Years (1943) is about Laura's first experience in teaching and her first years of marriage.

After Laura' s death there were some papers found, entitled The First Four Years. This is said to be an unfinished sequel and the truth is, they did not publish this part until 1971.

Laura married Almanzo Wilder in 1885 but it was not until she was 60 that she started working on her books. In fact, she did not mean to write it - but she was persuaded by her daughter who was actually the *driving force*. Her books were extremely popular in the United States  but it was only in 1950s when they appeared also in Great Britain. Thanks to a television series (which was based on the books) they became famous - today they are almost as popularin Britain as in the USA. One of the reason might be that they are slightly different from the classical children's book. Laura grows up in them and the style of the stories change - at the beginning they are very childish but gradually they become less and less childlike.