Reviewed by Kristin
For every person who grew up loving the Little House books
by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Sarah Miller has drawn together the threads of fiction
and the actual historical records of the Ingalls family as they journeyed from
Wisconsin to Kansas, thus creating a beautiful new work from mother Caroline’s
point of view.
Caroline loved being settled in Pepin, Wisconsin amidst
family and friends but she knew that her adventure loving husband, Charles,
always looked westward. Indeed, as
Charles announced that he had an offer to buy their Wisconsin homestead and was
making plans to stake a claim in Kansas, Caroline began obediently sewing a
canvas wagon cover, packing their most precious belongings into a trunk, and
preparing for the long journey.
The author’s language is beautiful—whether describing the
rolling prairies, her daughters’ blue eyes, or Charles’ unruly hair, Caroline
seems to have an eye for the loveliness of the world. Even on a day when the travelers finally stop
long enough for Caroline to wash clothes, she delights in the reflection of the
water and in the feeling of accomplishment as her scrubbing releases dirt from
the fabrics. Caroline is doing necessary
and even difficult work, but she understands her place in the world. To illustrate, an excerpt:
“She laid the drying clothes out like paper dolls on the grass. Caroline stood back, thoughtfully taking in their colors and shapes: Charles in brown and green, herself and Mary in shades of blue, and Laura’s little sprigged calico in just the bold shade of red Caroline longed to wear. Together all of them gently bent the grass, so that Caroline saw the soft imprint of her family on the land.”
Just as modern readers have to look back at the Little House
books through the lens of historical times, I had to maintain that same mindset
as I read this book. Caroline is
extremely scared of the Indians, to the point of seeing them as sub-human. While modern readers may find those racist
attitudes repugnant, the sentiments are historically accurate-- this was all
the people of that time had been taught.
Little bits are picked up from Laura’s fiction and retold
from Caroline’s point of view. Crossing
the creek with mustangs Pet, Patty and bulldog Jack is just as much of a
frightful adventure as recounted by young Laura. The delight of Mr. Edwards bringing Christmas
gifts from Santa is felt perhaps even more by Caroline, than by Mary and
Laura. The arrival of baby Carrie is
described in much more detail by the laboring mother, but also includes the
moment when Mary and Laura return with Charles after a day visiting the vacant
Indian camp to see that a new sister has increased their family.
Altogether, I found this book delightful. A frontier story which millions have known,
but told from another perspective makes this a mature version of one piece of
Wilder’s Little House series. I
appreciated the author’s note that discusses some of the discrepancies in the
original Little House series, and how she chose to maintain some of those
stories which are contradicted by historical record, and to change others to
more accurately reflect the Ingalls’ family adventures. I recommend this novel which so deftly
combines historical background and the imagined inner life of a frontier woman.
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