Author, Historian and Dean of Faculty at Trinity Christian College
John J. Fry was born in Pittsburgh. His B.A. in History is from Geneva (1991), and he also has an M.L.S. in Library Science from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.A. in History from Duquesne University. He received a Ph.D. in history, specializing in rural history and the American West, from the University of Iowa (2002). He has taught at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Illinois since 2003, and serves as Dean of Faculty. He previously wrote The Farm Press, Reform, and Rural Change: 1895-1920 (2005) and edited Laura Gibson Smith’s Almost Pioneers: One Couple’s Homesteading Adventure in the West (2013).
Lecture Title: What role did Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Christian faith play in her life and writing?
The beloved Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder have sold millions of copies since their publication in the first half of the twentieth century. Even her unpolished memoir, Pioneer Girl, which tells the true story behind the children’s books, was widely embraced upon its release in 2014. Despite Wilder’s enduring popularity, few fans know much about her Christian beliefs and practice.
In this presentation, based on his 2024 book, A Prairie Faith: The Religious Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, published by Eerdmans publishers, John Fry shines a light on Wilder’s quiet faith. The book surveys the Little House books, Pioneer Girl, and Wilder’s lesser-known writings, including her letters, poems, and newspaper columns. Analyzing this wealth of sources, it reveals how Wilder’s down-to-earth faith and Christian morality influenced her life and work. He also considers how Laura’s daughter Rose Wilder Lane contributed to the Little House Books. Interweaving these investigations with Wilder’s perennially interesting life story, A Prairie Faith illustrates the Christian practices of pioneers and rural farmers during this dynamic period of American history.