American Masters Explores the Cultural Legacy and Complicated History of Author Laura Ingalls Wilder in a Documentary on PBS

 This year marks the 85th anniversary of the publication of “Little House on the Prairie”

Laura Ingalls Wilder: Prairie to Page presents an unvarnished look at the unlikely author whose autobiographical fiction helped shape American ideas of the frontier and self-reliance. A Midwestern farm woman who published her first novel at age 65, Laura Ingalls Wilder transformed her frontier childhood into the best-selling “Little House” series. The documentary delves into the legacy of the iconic pioneer as well as the way she transformed her early life into enduring legend, a process that involved a little-known collaboration with her daughter Rose. Directed and produced by Emmy® Award winner Mary McDonagh Murphy (Harper Lee: American Masters), Laura Ingalls Wilder: Prairie to Page  is available nationwide  (check local listings), pbs.org/americanmasters and the PBS Video app. This year marks the 85^th anniversary of the publication of “Little House on the Prairie” (1935).