Today is the launch day for the new edition of A Wilder Rose, now available in ebook, print, and (yes!) audiobook, too.
The story behind this book is a long one, and the road to its publication was rocky. It is the true story of Rose Wilder Lane and her work on her mother's Little House books, based on research that stretched out for over two decades. I loved the Little House books as a kid, and when I learned, back in the 1970s, that Laura had written another book, The First Four Years, I jumped into it joyfully. But I was confused, because the book was so badly written, and so unlike the other eight beautiful books, that I couldn't believe that "my" Laura had written it.
But as it turned out, "my" Laura actually did write that book. It was the other eight books in the series that she didn't write--at least, not by herself. Her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane--journalist, best-selling author, intrepid world traveler, and professional ghostwriter--rewrote her mother's drafts, turning them into the polished, appealing books we know today. A Wilder Rose tells the story of Rose's desperate efforts to support her her elderly, ailing parents by revising her mother's pioneer stories and shepherding through the publication process--spending months on her mother's rewrites at the cost of doing her own work.
The Depression was simply awful, and Rose's and Laura's economic difficulties were compounded by illness and drought. Rose was tempted many times to give up: we can see that in the diaries and journals she kept over the years. But her parents desperately needed the money, and she stayed at her typewriter, working on her mother's books for months at a time. When the series was complete (in 1942, with the publication of These Happy Golden Years), she had helped to create something she could be proud of.
But because she wanted her mother to enjoy the legacy of the books--and because she knew that they would be more marketable under the name of the child heroine--she concealed her contributions. The two women developed an elaborate scheme to deceive their literary agent (George Bye), their editors, and their readers into the belief that Laura created the books all by herself, in pencil, on yellow school tablets. That story enhanced the popularity of the books, and even though the editors and publisher must have understood the truth, it was to their advantage (dollar-wise) to go along with the deception.
I wrote A Wilder Rose in 2011-2012. I expected to be able to interest a major house in its publication, but the Big Houses turned it down. To my surprise, even the smaller houses did, too. In fact, the book was rejected by over 35 publishers. The most-often cited editorial reason: "Laura's fans won't like the idea that their icon participated in a literary deception." (Well, yes, that's true--and the subject for another post.)
With all those rejections, I seriously considered putting the book in a bottom drawer and forgetting about it. But like Rose, I am stubborn, and I knew that the story, while it would be controversial, was needed to be told. So I got to work, published the book myself (in September 2013), and was delighted when it received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly and 100s of reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. It was selected as one of Kirkus' Indie Books of 2013, and is on the shelves of nearly a thousand libraries in the U.S. and elsewhere.
It did so well, in fact, that it was picked up by Lake Union Publishing and has now been reprinted in a new edition, in ebook, print, and audiobook, too. I'm sure there will be other milestones for this project, but this is a big one, and I'm delighted to be sharing it with you.
A Wilder Rose was a story that simply had to be told. Today, as I celebrate the launch of the new edition, I am very, very glad that Rose and I didn't give up.
The takeaway from this long, long adventure? If you have a story that has to be told, don't you give up, either.
To see the book's new trailer, go here.