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American Masters

Laura Ingalls Wilder: Prairie to Page trailer

A look at the unlikely author whose fiction helped shape American ideas of the frontier.

Aired 12/29/2020

American Masters

Laura Ingalls Wilder: Prairie to Page trailer

Preview: 12/29/2020 | 3m 26sVideo has Closed Captions

A look at the unlikely author whose fiction helped shape American ideas of the frontier.

An unvarnished look at the unlikely author whose autobiographical fiction helped shape American ideas of the frontier and self-reliance. A Midwestern farm woman who published her first novel at age 65, Laura Ingalls Wilder transformed her frontier childhood into the best-selling “Little House” series.

Aired 12/29/2020

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Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback

Support for American Masters is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AARP, Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Judith and Burton Resnick, Blanche and Hayward Cirker Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, Koo...

Disaster was looming when the Ingalls moved to Minnesota

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Disaster struck with the arrival of the Rocky Mountain locust invasion of 1875. (2m 14s)

How the logs of the "Little House" cabin were stolen

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How the logs that Charles Ingalls used for the little house belonged to Osage Indians. (2m 8s)

The letter from NY that changed Laura Ingalls Wilder's life

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The news, at age 64, from a New York editor was unexpected for Laura Ingalls Wilder. (1m 49s)

"Little House" TV stars Alison Arngrim and Dean Butler

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Arngrim and Butler talk about how the show had fans in Ronald Reagan and the Ayatollah. (2m 58s)

Roxane Gay and others on racist “Little House” depictions

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Roxane Gay, Louise Erdrich and others discuss racist depictions in Wilder’s books. (2m 23s)

The secret mother-daughter collaboration on “Little House”

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Recent scholarship has shed light on this secret collaboration. (4m 6s)

Until she was an author, money was a struggle for Wilder

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Until she became a best-selling author, making ends meet was a struggle. (2m 20s)

The word that Laura refused to say in her wedding vows

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Laura Ingalls' courtship with Almanzo Wilder led to a unique wedding ceremony. (3m 35s)

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Support for American Masters is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, AARP, Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Judith and Burton Resnick, Blanche and Hayward Cirker Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, Koo...

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