Old Town in the Green Groves

Last updated
Old Town in the Green Groves
OldTownInTheGreenGroves.jpg
First edition
Author Cynthia Rylant
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesLittle House
Genre Family Saga
Western novel
Publisher HarperCollins
Publication date
2002
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Preceded by On the Banks Of Plum Creek  
Followed by By The Shores Of Silver Lake  

Old Town in the Green Groves, by Cynthia Rylant, is a novel based on some notes left by Laura Ingalls Wilder and a general knowledge about her life and the times. [1] This book is not officially part of the Little House series, but describes a period between the end of On the Banks Of Plum Creek and the early part of By The Shores Of Silver Lake. In the Little House books, which are not strictly autobiographical and include alterations to the actual chronology of events, this period in Wilder's life is abridged and condensed.

This time period includes the birth of Charles Ingalls Jr. on November 1, 1875 in Minnesota. Having endured several years of poor crops and mounting debts in Walnut Grove, the Ingalls family decides to sell their farm and move to Burr Oak, Iowa, where Pa has a job offer to help to run a hotel in town. On the way to Iowa, they stay for some time with relatives in South Troy, Minnesota, where Charles dies at 9 months of age on August 27, 1876. The family proceeds to Burr Oak, where they take up their jobs at the hotel. Grace Ingalls is born in Burr Oak on May 23, 1877. Finally, the Ingalls family recovers enough to move west once more, back to Minnesota, and then onto Dakota Territory, where By the Shores of Silver Lake is largely set.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">De Smet, South Dakota</span> Town in South Dakota, United States

De Smet is a city in and the county seat of Kingsbury County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,089 at the 2010 census.

<i>Little House on the Prairie</i> American series of childrens books (1932–1971) and media franchise

The Little House on the Prairie books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the American Midwest between 1870 and 1894. Eight of the novels were completed by Wilder, and published by Harper & Brothers in the 1930s and 1940s, during her lifetime. The name "Little House" appears in the first and third novels in the series, while the third is identically titled Little House on the Prairie. The second novel, meanwhile, was about her husband's childhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Ingalls Wilder</span> American writer, teacher, and journalist (1867–1957)

Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder was an American writer, mostly known for the Little House on the Prairie series of children's books, published between 1932 and 1943, which were based on her childhood in a settler and pioneer family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Almanzo Wilder</span> Husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Almanzo James Wilder was the husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the father of Rose Wilder Lane, both noted authors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grace Ingalls</span>

Grace Pearl Ingalls Dow was the fifth and last child of Caroline and Charles Ingalls. She was the youngest sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder, known for her Little House on the Prairie books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caroline Ingalls</span> Mother of Laura Ingalls Wilder (1839–1924

Caroline Lake Ingalls (; née Quiner (later Holbrook); December 12, 1839 – April 20, 1924) was the mother of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Ingalls</span> Father of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Charles Phillip Ingalls was the father of Laura Ingalls Wilder, known for her Little House series of books. He is depicted as the character "Pa" in the books and the television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burr Oak, Iowa</span> CDP in Iowa, United States

Burr Oak is an unincorporated community in Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States, very close to the Minnesota state line. Burr Oak is a census-designated place and the population was 166 in the 2010 census.

Nellie Oleson is a fictional character in the Little House series of autobiographical children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She was portrayed by Alison Arngrim in the NBC television show Little House on the Prairie, where her role is much expanded. Three different girls from Laura Ingalls Wilder's childhood — Nellie Owens, Genevieve Masters and Stella Gilbert — were the basis for the fictional Nellie Oleson.

<i>By the Shores of Silver Lake</i>

By the Shores of Silver Lake is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1939, the fifth of nine books in her Little House series. It spans just over one year, beginning when she is 12 years old and her family moves from Plum Creek, Minnesota to what will become De Smet, South Dakota.

<i>Little Town on the Prairie</i>

Little Town on the Prairie is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1941, the seventh of nine books in her Little House series. It is set in De Smet, South Dakota. It opens in the spring after the Long Winter, and ends as Laura becomes a schoolteacher so she can help her sister, Mary, stay at a school for the blind in Vinton, Iowa. It tells the story of 15-year-old Laura's first paid job outside of home and her last terms of schooling. At the end of the novel, she receives a teacher's certificate, and is employed to teach at the Brewster settlement, 12 miles (19 km) away.

<i>These Happy Golden Years</i>

These Happy Golden Years is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1943, the eighth of nine books in her Little House series – although it originally ended it. It is based on her later adolescence near De Smet, South Dakota, featuring her short time as a teacher, beginning at age 15, and her courtship with Almanzo Wilder. It spans the time period from 1882 to 1885, when they marry.

<i>Little House on the Prairie</i> (novel) 1935 American childrens novel by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House on the Prairie is an autobiographical children's novel by Laura Ingalls Wilder, published in 1935. It was the third novel published in the Little House series, continuing the story of the first, Little House in the Big Woods (1932), but not related to the second. Thus, it is sometimes called the second one in the series, or the second volume of "the Laura Years".

William Anderson is an American author, historian, and lecturer. He is a specialist in the subject of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her times.

Mr. Edwards is a fictional character that appeared in the Little House series of autobiographical children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. His character was later adapted for the NBC television show, Little House on the Prairie and given the name "Isaiah Edwards."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Alden</span>

Edwin Hyde "Robert" Alden was an American Congregational minister. He was one of the many real people upon whom Laura Ingalls Wilder based a character in the Little House on the Prairie series of books and the NBC television series of the same name.

<i>Little House on the Prairie: The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder</i> 2015 American film

Little House on the Prairie: The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder is an hour-long documentary film about the life of American author Laura Ingalls Wilder, best known for her Little House on the Prairie book series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burr Oak House/Masters Hotel</span> United States historic place

The Burr Oak House/Masters Hotel, also known as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum and Park, is a historic building located in Burr Oak, Iowa, United States. The 1½-story frame structure was built in 1856, and features a full width front porch and a raised basement. Its significance is derived from three elements of its history. First, it is one of the few pre-1860 buildings that was built specifically as a hotel that remains in Iowa. Second, it served as a hotel in a small Iowa town for a significant period of time, enduring changing economic times and tastes. The hotel started as a log structure that was built in 1851, and after this building was built five years later, remained in business until 1878 with different owners and names. At that time it became a dry goods and general store, and served that purpose into the early 1890s when Dr. W.H. Emmons used it as a residence and office. Around 1896 a two-story addition, no longer extant, was built onto the south side and it was made exclusively into a house.

References