**spoiler alert** I revisited this book today after having read the whole series as a child. I would save my pocket money for the next book in the seri**spoiler alert** I revisited this book today after having read the whole series as a child. I would save my pocket money for the next book in the series. Sometimes I was lucky to get one for Xmas or a birthday. I swear that despite the heat of an Australian summer I froze along with the Ingalls in the Long Winter. Finally I retrieved my childhood treasures from the 1970s and read the Little House In The Big Woods to my own children. A story about "olden days" my son informs me. No cars, no electricity and you hunt, kill, grow and make everything yourself. Your Dad, tells stories,plays a violin and sings for you at night if he isn't too tired. Your Mum reminds you to be a lady, and sits by candle light waiting for a husband who this time might not make it home alive and a rifle hangs over the door to keep everyone safe. Your life revolves around the seasons. Then we started Little House On The Prairie. Out of curiosity and with the power of google I researched Laura and her family. There are accusations of racism, the reckless stupidity of Pa and how mean Ma was. A book that has at different times been banned from school libraries. Others describe it as a classic of American children's literature. So then I thought I need to reread this book all the way through before continuing on with my children. What Stood out for me as a child was the struggles of Laura to be a good girl, while her big sister was sickeningly perfect;the near loss of a beloved dog crossing a river; and the family watching the Indians marched off their own land. Not familiar with American history at the time, I mistakenly thought Laura had witnessed the Trail of Tears, though it is something similar. What I got from Little House on The Prairie was a bitter sweet perspective of pioneer life written as though through the eyes of a young child but with the hindsight and wisdom of a woman in her 60s. I think people are missing the subtleties of this novel. Remember it is fiction and not a true autobiography. In fact given it was published in the 30s I think Mrs Wilder was quite the subversive with what she managed to slip in and get published. It was many years before scholars started to write about American history from the perspective of its original inhabitants and the horrible injustice. The story starts with Pa deciding the Big Woods of Wisconsin have become too populated. Remember the family subsists basically on what he can trap and the oats and vegetable garden they grow. They are ecstatic when Pa comes across honey in a tree. The grandfather shares his maple syrup harvest with them. It looks rosy from the point of view of a little girl but life is tough even with family around them.The Woods are being cleared and the wildlife vanishing. So Pa convinces Ma to pack up the 3 children, one just a baby, their meagre possessions, and the beloved Jack into a Wagon to risk their lives for a new life.Poor Jack has to walk all the way. Pa has heard there may be land for the taking on the Prairie so they risk everything for what they see as a better life. They see it as empty land for the taking. Now here is where the subtlety slips in and where I think Ms Wilder is quite the unheralded rebel. We get descriptions of vast empty tracts of land, long swaying grass that reaches the horizon, starry sky that goes on forever. The land is beautiful vast and empty, teaming with wildlife, unsettled, uninhabited ripe for the taking. The adults know there are Indians, maybe Laura will see a "papoose". But it isn't empty. At the beginning the Indians are out there somewhere. So long as they keep to themselves everything will be okay while the settlers move on in. In between Laura the child innocently questions her mother, asking why she doesn't like Indians. The mother replies she just doesn't. The girls are reminded to keep their bonnets on lest they become as brown as Indians. And then Laura asks" This is Indian country isn't it? What did we come to this country for if you don't like Indians?" Pa expresses more acceptance of them but he still sees the land as his for the taking and that the Indians should keep to themselves. He is there early to get the best pick. Laura again poses uncomfortable questions for the adults. Where do the Indians go? To be told oh the army just moves them on West. Basically that is the way of things. "But Pa I thought this was Indian Territory. Won't it make the Indians mad to have to-" and of course she is packed off to bed. But the land isn't empty. Pa built their cabin right next to an Indian trail. Eventually Indians ride past their home every day. They come in to the house and Ma cooks for them while Pa is away. The children are frightened. The tribes meet and want to go to war. But the local Indians refuse to be a part of it. One who befriended Pa speaks out against fighting. But how are they rewarded? They are marched off their land by troops. Finally Pa and Ma are confronted by the reality of their actions. A long trail of men, women, children and babies pass by their home with only their pride left. Laura cries for Pa to get her an Indian baby. But what is she really crying for? Maybe lost innocence? Maybe at just how cruel adults can be? That they aren't good and infallible? Just how sad it all is? I saw stark contrasts in the book. Ma makes sure the clothes are washed and even ironed miles from anyone. The girls must keep their bonnets on, mind their manners and behave like ladies.While the Indians wear nothing more than animal skins, ride horses bareback, and are meant to be wild. But like Pa an Indian father hunts down a panther to keep his family safe. It is the Indians who are noble and refuse to fight. It is a black doctor who saves the family members live. while the adults might talk the racist talk, the author shines a light on the racism by showing the other side and who the real savages are. Intentionally or coincidentally we will never know. I read this book over 40 years ago, and I knew what the grown ups were saying was wrong and what happened to the Indians cruel then. Give your own children more credit. And for the children reading this? There is the exciting journey, crossing the river, Mr Edwards meeting Santa, Laura's struggles to be good, the beautiful prairie, the Indians, the adventure. Reread it again, you might see a whole lot more. It just gives me a whole other level to love these books on....more
Great adventure story. Survives the Roman Galleys as a slave. Hell bent on revenge. Leper colonies. Chariot races. And Christ. Would make a great moviGreat adventure story. Survives the Roman Galleys as a slave. Hell bent on revenge. Leper colonies. Chariot races. And Christ. Would make a great movie. Wait, that has already been done many times!...more
"They seek him here they seek him there those damned Frenchies seek him everywhere!" What is not to love about this adventure filled novel with a bit "They seek him here they seek him there those damned Frenchies seek him everywhere!" What is not to love about this adventure filled novel with a bit of romance thrown in as this English fop rescues french aristocrats from Madam Guillotine.
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