Laura’s daughter, Rose
Wilder Lane, provided suggestions on the Little House books, acting much as a
substantive editor would. Laura appreciated Rose’s input, but she didn’t always
agree with it. And sometimes their differences took a while to work out.
Take a blizzard scene
from On the Banks of Plum Creek. Pa
is gone when the blizzard comes, and Ma goes to the barn to do the chores. It
appears that Rose caught a POV error where Laura was seeing what Ma was doing
without being there with her. Rose suggested that Ma take the character Laura
along, but Ma would never have risked it, and the author Laura wasn’t willing
to write an unrealistic scene. Laura and Rose eventually agreed on a third
approach. Instead of going to the barn physically, Laura follows Ma in her mind
as she imagines what Ma would be doing each minute she is gone.
Laura and Rose’s biggest disagreements
involved By the Shores of Silver Lake.
Here is just some of their correspondence:
January
26, 1938 Letter from Laura to Rose
Just a word
more about Silver Lake. You fear it is too adult. But adult stuff must begin to
be mixed in, for Laura is growing up.
* * *
We can’t
spoil this story by making it childish. Not and keep Laura as the heroine. And
we can’t change heroines in the middle of the stream and use Carrie in the
place of Laura.
January 28, 1938 Letter from Laura to Rose
I like your
idea of the beginning less and less the more I think of it. That was the way I
tried to start it but all the objections I have mentioned cropped up as I wrote
it. It made too much of Plum Creek. We don’t want to go back there. . . .
It made an
unpleasant beginning, a tale of sickness and failure and death. We don’t want
to tell of Jack’s dying. Nor of Mary’s sickness. Nor of Pa’s failure so that it
was necessary for him to make a new start because he hadn’t gained anything by
all his hard work. The readers must know all that but they should not be made
to think about it. The story of Silver Lake is connected with Plum Creek close
enough in Laura’s mind and her thoughts are given to the reader, but it is
second hand and the knowledge isn’t even sad, as it would be your way. It will
be passed over lightly by the reader in the interest of the new adventure which
is already begun.
I’m afraid
that I am going to insist that the story starts as I started it.
February 3, 1938 Letter from Rose to Laura
You
certainly are handling the material much better all the time, and if you don’t
want this book touched, you’re absolutely right not to have it touched. . . .
I don’t say
that Harper’s won’t take this manuscript as it stands. They’ll take it on your
reputation, and publish it; any publisher will. But you’ll lose your audience
for future books, and cut your income, unless you work it over, and work it
over by concentrating on every word and sentence until you know precisely what
its values are, why you use it. . . . There’s a lot of fine stuff in it that
doesn’t need to be touched, and there is deadwood, and clumsy spots and a lack
of sufficient sharpness of identification with Laura.
* * *
It’s your
book, and if you want to send it to Harpers as is, that’s all right with me.
I’m only telling you what will happen if you do. You can do that, or you can
work at the manuscript, till you bring it all up to the level of its best parts
now. Unless you want to do that work on it, my advice would be to make it your
last book and not do any more. This book as it is will go on your reputation,
but it will not add to it, in my opinion.
February 19, 1938 Letter from Laura to Rose
You don’t
know how much good your letter did me and I can’t tell you. You see I know the
music but I can’t think of the words.
* * *
Anyway your
letter picked me up and gave me courage. It is sweet of you to say the nice
things you did about my writing and I will try to deserve them more.
In the end, Laura and
Rose reached a compromise. Rose basically got her way on how the book began, but
Laura got to keep some of the more "adult" material, such as rioting by the
workers constructing the railroad. Both may have been toned down, but I can't tell without the original draft for comparison.
The dispute didn’t harm
the close relationship between Laura and Rose, and Laura was always gracious
about receiving criticism. Here is an earlier letter, this time to her
publisher:
March
21, 1933 Letter from Laura to Ida Louise Raymond
Indeed I am
very grateful to you for giving me your frank opinion of Farmer Boy.
An honest
opinion even though not favorable is much more to be desired than one more
flattering if insincere.
Sometimes you have to
trust your editor, and sometimes you have to trust your instincts. But always accept
the editor’s critique with careful thought and good grace.
That’s this week’s lesson
from Laura Ingalls Wilder.
__________
The picture shows Rose Wilder Lane and, according to Wikimedia
Commons, it was taken sometime before 1921. The photo is in the public domain
because of its age.
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