Beyond Little House » Sarah Uthoff

Capable Girl Books

Sarah Uthoff — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:01:15 +0000

A recent book by Elaine Showalter has an interesting mention of Laura in a section called Story Belongs to the People.

“One cultural contribution of the 1930s was the radio soap opera; daytime radio offered a rich choice of serial dramas about women, stories to brighten the lives of lonely housewives. Their shared theme, one historian notes, was women’s strength in the face of male weakness. “The men in their lives were handsome, but unreliable. They had affairs… they failed in business… or they were left helpless by blindness, amnesia, or some crippling trauma.” Women had to step into the breach, save the family, and take over as breadwinners. These drastic solutions to female fantasies were deplored by male writers, as they had in the days of Fanny Fern’s Ruth Hall. James Thurber complained that ‘the man in the wheelchair’ has come to bet he standard Soapland symbol.” and William Faulkner described the era in Hollywood soap and weepie movies as ‘the Kotex age.’

The popular fiction of the thirties and even children’s literature by women also provided resourceful women characters to overcome the anxieties of the decade, or told stories of survival in hard times. Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957) began in 1932 to publish her fictionalized memoirs of homesteading as a girl with her beloved family in the woods of Wisconsin and the Dakota Indian Territory. Little House in the Big Woods (1932) and its sequels became favorites with children, teachers, and librarians.”

(pp. 356-357)

Showalter, Elaine. A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx. New York: Knopf, 2008. Print.

When I was growing up, I read a lot of my grandmother’s books from when she was growing up in the 1920s and 1930s. I loved not only Nancy Drew and the related series the Dana girls, but also “Helen in the Editor’s Chair” and the “Dorothy Dixon Earns Her Wings” series. These were all stories with active girls. I got so disgusted with the popular “girls” books of when I was growing up because all these girls seemed to do was worry about how to get a boy or to scheme against each other. The girl heroines of my grandmother’s old books were active, had goals, had plans and did things. They solved mysteries, righted wrongs, flew planes, and ran newspapers. I loved them. Like Laura’s books they provided resourceful women characters to model myself on. It never occurred to me that Laura’s resourcefulness was part of a literary trend in the 1930s, but it certainly is an interesting angle.

Like these other capable girls, Laura did things. She got scared, faced her fears and persevered. I hope in reading these books I learned to do the same.

Sarah Uthoff

http://trundlebedtales.wordpress.com

Ask the Experts: When were the Little House Books Published in Paperback?

Rebecca Brammer — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:26:35 +0000

Do you know when the first paperbacks were printed on the series of Little House books? I found a set that says 1953 newly illustrated uniform edition printed 1953 by Harper and Row.

I can’t find anything to verify that the first ones in 1953 were paperback…. just wondering as I would love to buy them if they are from 1953 as I don’t need another set as I have one from the seventies.

Thanks for your help.

Linda

This set isn’t any (or much) older than your set from the 70s (nor do paperbacks hold much value anyway, even if they were the first paperbacks printed).

Even currently printed paperback Little House books will have the statement “newly illustrated, uniform edition printed 1953″ on them. This does not mean that the book you hold was printed in 1953, but that 1953 is when the newly illustrated uniform edition was first printed. 1953 is the year that all of the books came out in a set with new illustrations by Garth Williams. Prior to that, the books were illustrated by Helen Sewell, with Mildred Boyle for some books, and of course each book was printed in a different year.

The clue that tells me this set of paperbacks was not printed in 1953 is that they call themselves Harper & Row. I have several first edition 1953 hardback books with the Garth Williams illustrations, and these books say Harper & Brothers Company for the publisher. It was not until 1962 that Harper & Brothers became Harper & Row following a merger with another company. Since around 1990, it has been known as HarperCollins.

According to Sarah Sue: The paperback set came out in 1971. They were published simultaneously by Harpers (Yellow set) and Readers Digest (Blue set). Full color, full image covers were Scholastic.

Little Great Auk

Sarah Uthoff — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:04:36 +0000

Great Auk

Near the beginning of The Long Winter the Ingalls family discover a strange marine bird. It’s nearly frozen and they nurse it back to life, but nothing they have to feed it seems to go down. They said the bird looked like the image in Pa’s Big Green Animal Book of the Great Auk, only a miniature version.

The South Dakota birders think it was probably an Ancient Murrelet or a less likely a Dovekie. Both have occasionally been found far inland, but they don’t live long because they eat tiny marine invertebrates that aren’t found in fresh water. The Great Auk has long been extinct, but you can look for an Ancient Murrelet or a Dovekie next time you go to the ocean or in a natural science museum.

A New Voice for the Blog

Sarah Uthoff — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:40:40 +0000

I’m a new voice appearing here on Beyond Little House. I was supposed to be posting all along, but an illness this spring and its after effects have kept me from posting before now. I hope I am back to a point where I can post regularly so you will see me here often from here on in.

As it is my first post here I want to talk about one of my current, if not new, projects. During her lifetime, Laura Ingalls Wilder responded to every fan letter she received, until the last 6 months of her life. She saved the fan letters and all are carefully preserved. Ironically, her responses were scattered to the four winds and while some have come safely to rest in museums, archives, and libraries across the country, others currently reside in scrapbooks, the backs of drawers, in musty files, and in old shoe boxes tied up with ribbon and carefully put away. As interest in Laura continues to grow, now is the time to bring those letters to light.

Please help make sure those letters aren’t lost forever. In conjunction with the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, I’m seeking photocopies of Laura letters. These would be scholarly study copies only and will be deposited in the newly built archive room at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Walnut Grove, Minnesota.

I’m also seeking photos of any of the Wilder museum sites pre-1985 or photos of any special local Wilder events, such as gingerbread parties that you might have attended. Copies are accepted by photocopy, photography or scan sent by e-mail. Thank-you for your help and please help to spread the word.

I’ve been tracking letters from people and in archives across the country. My campaign has brought to light several in libraries across the country, such as the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Public Library and the Grand Forks (Nebraska) Public library. Individuals from Iowa City to California have also contributed letters to the collection. The letters have provided information about things ranging from Wilder’s trip back to Pepin in 1890 to a description to how a famous 1930 of Wilder was taken to a hesitation on Wilder’s part to receive more mail during her husband’s illness eventually leading to his death in Oct. 1949. These letters have other information to share. Please help us find it. I have now collected 21 letters and deposited them with the Walnut Grove archive. If you know of any letter or would be willing to post a flyer or know of a place for free publicity, since this is my own private project, please let me know.

Send photocopies to:
Sarah Uthoff
Trundlebed Tales
P.O. Box 111
Solon IA 52333
info@trundlebedtales.com

Sarah S. Uthoff