Laura Ingalls Wilder

:This article is about Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author. There is an article on the aviatrix Laura Ingalls.

Celebrated author

Rose left Rocky Ridge Farm in the late 1930s, moving to Danbury, Connecticut. She eventually ceased fiction writing and spent the remainder of her life writing about and promoting her philosophies of personal freedom and liberty. She became one of the more influential American libertarians of the middle 20th century. Laura and Almanzo were frequently alone at Rocky Ridge Farm. Most of the surrounding land had been sold off, but they still kept some farm animals, and tended their flower beds and vegetable gardens. Almost daily, carloads of fans would stop by, eager to meet "Laura" of the Little House Books. They lived independently and without financial worries until Almanzo's death in 1949, at the age of 92. Laura was devastated but determined to remain independent. For the next several years, she did just that, looked after by a circle of neighbors and friends who found it hard to believe their very own "Mrs. Wilder" was a world-famous author. She was a familiar figure in Mansfield, being brought into town regularly by her driver to do her errands, attend church or visit friends.

Related Topics:
Danbury, Connecticut - Libertarians - 20th century - 1949

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During the 1950s, Rose usually came back to Missouri to spend the winter with Laura. Once, Laura returned to Connecticut for a visit to Rose's home, traveling by passenger jet. In the fall of 1956, Rose found her 89-year-old mother severely ill from diabetes and a weak heart. Several weeks in a hospital seemed to improve the situation somewhat, but on February 10, 1957, three days after her 90th birthday, Laura Ingalls Wilder died.

Related Topics:
1950s - 1956 - February 10 - 1957

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Rose left Mansfield after her mother's death, but was instrumental in donating the farmhouse and most of the contents to the Laura Ingalls Wilder - Rose Wilder Lane Home Association. The farmhouse and the nearby stone cottage continue to receive thousands of annual visitors, and carry a National Historic Landmark designation.

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Rose inherited ownership of the "Little House" literary estate for her lifetime only, all rights reverting to the Mansfield library after her death, according to her mother's will. After her death in 1968, Rose's heir Roger MacBride gained control of the copyrights through a practice called "bumping the will". MacBride was Lane's informally-adopted grandson, as well as her business agent, attorney and heir. All of MacBride's actions carried Rose's apparent approval. In fact, at Rose's request, the copyrights to each of the Little House Books (as well as those of Lane's own literary works) had been renewed in MacBride's name as the original copyrights expired during the decade between Laura's and Rose's deaths.

Related Topics:
1968 - Roger MacBride

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Controversy did not come until after MacBride's death in 1995, when the Laura Ingalls Wilder Branch of the Wright County Library (which Laura helped found) in Mansfield, Missouri, decided it was worth trying to recover the rights. The ensuing court case was settled in an undisclosed manner, but MacBride's heirs retained the rights. The library received enough to start work on a new building.

Related Topics:
1995 - Wright County

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The popularity of the Little House series of books has grown phenomenally over the years, spawning a multimillion-dollar franchise of mass merchandising, additional spinoff book series (some written by MacBride and his daughter) and the long-running television show, starring Michael Landon. Laura Ingalls Wilder has been portrayed by Melissa Gilbert (1974-1984), Meredith Monroe (1997, 1998) and Kyle Chavarria in television series.

Related Topics:
Series of books - Michael Landon - Melissa Gilbert - Meredith Monroe - Kyle Chavarria

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Laura once said the reason she wrote her autobiography in the first place was to preserve the stories of her childhood for today's children, to help them to understand how much America had changed during her lifetime.

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