I enjoy reading the Little House on the Prairie books to my daughter, but am now looking for something for myself. Are there any other books like this, but for adults?
I like the theme of the Westward migration of pioneers, and I like the level of detail in the Little House books, in terms of showing what life was like back then.
I am definitely not looking for romance novels, and not necessarily cowboy/outlaw novels either (which is what the Louis L’Amour novels seem like).
I looked up the Avonlea and Sarah Plain & Tall books, but they are in the "Young Adult" category. Any other books which are full-fledged adult level?
Rose Wilder Lane wrote a book called Young Pioneers, YA or adult.
Similar to LHOTP is Carol Ryrie Brink’s Caddie Woodlawn, but it’s classified as a kids book, too.
LI Wilder published a series of letters home to her husband called West From Home, chronicling a trip she took to visit her daughter in San Francisco and go to the World’s Fair. It is interesting to read from her point of view how much live changed during her lifetime.
California Gold is a good book (first in a series of, I think, 3 books) by John Jakes. He also wrote the Kent Family Chronicles. Very well researched historical fiction, and not too romancy or cowboy-y.
Check at your local public library. Librarians are excellent resources for reader’s advisory, and there are reference books with genre lists, one of which is called What Do I Read Next? You look up a book you liked, and it recommends others.
It was a tv serial entitled The Road to Avonley. It was cute, but I don’t know if it was based on a novel.
References :
There is a set of three books starting with Sarah Plain & Tall who’s central character is a woman from New England that goes out west as a mail order bride. It is not a romance novel. I can’t remember the author but you can probably google it. I enjoyed all three books. It was also a Hallmark Special on TV a number of years bakc with Glenn Close & Christopher Walkins.
References :
Days on the Road: Crossing the Plains in 1865, The Diary of Sarah Raymond Herndon by Sarah Raymond Herndon
Outlasting the Trail: The Story of a Woman’s Journey West by Mary Barmeyer O’Brien
Hearts West: True Stories of Mail-Order Brides on the Frontier by Chris Enss
Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart
Heart of the Trail: The Stories of Eight Wagon Train Women by Mary Barmeyer O’Brien
References :
Rose Wilder Lane wrote a book called Young Pioneers, YA or adult.
Similar to LHOTP is Carol Ryrie Brink’s Caddie Woodlawn, but it’s classified as a kids book, too.
LI Wilder published a series of letters home to her husband called West From Home, chronicling a trip she took to visit her daughter in San Francisco and go to the World’s Fair. It is interesting to read from her point of view how much live changed during her lifetime.
California Gold is a good book (first in a series of, I think, 3 books) by John Jakes. He also wrote the Kent Family Chronicles. Very well researched historical fiction, and not too romancy or cowboy-y.
Check at your local public library. Librarians are excellent resources for reader’s advisory, and there are reference books with genre lists, one of which is called What Do I Read Next? You look up a book you liked, and it recommends others.
References :
Sarah Plain and Tall as a young adult novel? Try elementary school.
I would suggest Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson. It is about a sixteen year old girl who inherits a claim in Montana. If she can finish proving the claim (planting, fencing, etc) she can keep the land. It’s a great book.
You might also enjoy A Lantern In Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich.
References :