About this episode

This episode explores the lesser-known, grittier chapters of Laura Ingalls Wilder's life and her writing career before her famous books.

Laura Ingalls Wilder's books inspired us as children with a fascination for history. And her story has been with us since the beginning of the podcast, all of those years ago. She has deserved a second look from us for a long time! In part two of our series, we leave the Laura we are all familiar with from her pioneer stories and head off into a grittier chapter in her life. Tragedy seemed to stalk Laura and Almanzo relentlessly, until at last they found a home in the Ozarks near Mansfield, Missouri. We'll tell you about Laura's writing career BEFORE the one she's famous for, and the struggles that brought her to the precipice of glory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: The History Chicks

Topics covered

• Laura Ingalls Wilder
• pioneer stories
• writing career
• tragedy
• Ozarks
• history

Keywords

• Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Almanzo
• Ozarks
• Mansfield
• pioneer stories
• writing career
• history

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Ozarks, Mansfield, Missouri

More episodes of The History Chicks : A Women's History Podcast

• Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Do-over, Part Three · April 22, 2026 · 1h 37m
• Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Do-over, Part One · March 26, 2026 · 2h 6m
• Boudica · March 12, 2026 · 1h 15m
• Bonus: History Chicks History · March 6, 2026 · 7 min
• Dovey Johnson Roundtree · February 26, 2026 · 2h 3m
• Odetta · February 11, 2026 · 1h 32m

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