Customer Reviews

The Little House in the Highlands (Little House The Martha Years)

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Warning - if you enjoyed the Martha series you will not ever see the ending - the series will not be finished according to the author herself. Why? Here's what she had to say on her website.

"The Time Has Come, the Walrus Said...
...to talk about Little House. Many of you have written to ask when my next Martha or Charlotte book will be published. Plans have been in flux for over a year now, but it's time to address your questions.
As I mentioned here recently, HarperCollins has launched new paperback editions of Laura's books which feature photographic covers and no longer contain the Garth Williams illustrations. (The Garth Williams art will remain in the hardcover editions and the colorized paperback editions.)
There are also going to be some changes in the other Little House series. The Martha, Charlotte, Caroline, and Rose books are being reissued in abridged editions. If you wish to read these books in their original, complete forms, you'll want to pick them up now before the unabridged editions go out of print. In at least one case ( On Top of Concord Hill, a Caroline book), the original is already out of print and is hard to find. (A reader recently told me copies are selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay.)
The abridged editions of my books and the Caroline and Rose books will be released with new covers this summer. They are significantly shorter; in some cases more than a hundred pages have been cut from the original edition.
In light of these changes, I have decided not to continue writing Martha and Charlotte books. Although it is indeed strange to know that I will not tell the rest of their stories (especially the story of Martha and Lew's romance, for which I have been sowing seeds since the first books), I do not think it is such a bad thing to end my part of the story with Beyond the Heather Hills and Across the Puddingstone Dam. In both of those books, I had the opportunity to say something about what is good and true and enduring in this world. Martha glimpsed it, looking into the eyes of her infant niece. Charlotte glimpsed it in the eyes of her mother, the grown-up Martha, who endured the worst kind of loss but, through faith, managed to keep hold of--and share--her joy.
It will be difficult to say goodbye to these girls who have been to me like my own children. I have loved watching them grow. I am deeply honored to have had the opportunity to, in the words of Gail Godwin, "respectfully imagine" them and chronicle their stories.
As I said, my decision to leave the series has been in the works for quite some time. Meanwhile, I've been working on new projects and am quite excited about my current novel, which is about neither a Scottish lass nor a New England villager, but something completely different. Stay tuned...

You Guys Are Great
Thank you so much for the outpouring of support and well wishes you have given in the comments from yesterday's post. You all are wonderful, and it's a blessing to have such passionate readers!
Some questions naturally arose in the comments, and I thought I'd tackle a few of them here. One important point is that HarperCollins doesn't think of the abridgements as dumbed-down. I do, and that I am strongly opposed to the dumbing-down of children's literature must be obvious from my decision to walk away from a series of books that has been my heart's work for the past decade. Although I came to the decision many months ago, the shock of it still takes my breath away sometimes. I love Martha and Charlotte, really love them. Like daughters. I have written certain scenes between Martha and Lew in my mind a hundred times. I'm sorry that I will not be sharing them with you, more sorry than I can express.
My decision to quit also had serious ramifications for my family. Had I continued with the series, we would still be living in Virginia; Scott would still be a work-at-home freelancer. So quitting was not a decision I made lightly; it had teeth.
And yet, if you read this blog then you know my stance on giving children the highest caliber of literature--not a slimmed-down version of what had been a carefully crafted novel. And so, when it became clear that my publishers were committed to their decision to abridge, I made what I believe to be the right decision--the only decision I could have made. Doing the right thing, I tell my children, is almost never the easy thing.
Certainly, this was a very hard thing to do.
But as I said, while I see the abridgement as dumbing-down, I must say in all fairness that I don't believe my publishers see it that way at all. They see this as an opportunity to bring the books to a younger audience, a way to keep the series in print. The decision was presented to me with excitement and enthusiasm; I really think they were surprised that I was dismayed by it.
I bear them no ill will; indeed, I shall be sorry not to be working with my wonderful HarperCollins editor anymore. She is a gem. I simply disagree, quite gravely, with this publishing decision. I do think children deserve the very best books we can give them. The books I wrote, the books that were carefully and lovingly edited by not one, but two top-notch editors (the great Alix Reid, who edited all eight of my novels, not to mention Newbery winner Ella Enchanted, has since left the publishing world for other pursuits), are, I truly believe, literature of high quality. And I don't think they are too hard, or too long, for young readers. I have heard from too many enthusiastic young readers to believe otherwise.
HarperCollins has made a business decision, and I disagree with it on principle, as an author, a reader, and a mother. I think chopping up the books is a mistake. But--and this is very important--publishers respond to trends in the marketplace. They make decisions based upon what sells. If you, as consumers (readers, parents, booklovers), want to influence publishing trends, you must do it (I am sorry to say) with your pocketbooks. The big publishing houses don't read our blogs; they don't know how we feel about literature versus twaddle. They only know what sells.
I see both sides of this coin, because I live on both sides. I'm a homeschooling mom with a modest household income, and frugality is a must. I'm also a writer whose livelihood depends on people spending money on books. Years ago, Scott and I made a conscious decision to strike a balance between these two competing identities: we resolved not to buy used if the book is still in print and the author is still alive. We buy new books in hardcover as often as possible, because that too sends a message to a publisher. And if we read a book at the library and truly love it, we try to buy a copy of it too.
(Now you know why I have cheap furniture and don't dress well. All the discretionary income goes to books.)
So. I'm deeply gratified that you are ordering copies of my unabridged novels while you can still get them. Deeply gratified--yesterday was a goosebumpy day as the comments and emails came pouring in. But if you really want to show your support for the principles on which I stand, go out and buy a new copy of The Penderwicks. In hardcover, if possible! "

Pretty sad. Don't say you weren't warned. You will want to know how Martha ends up and none of us will ever find out.

UPDATE: Still no hope, Melissa Wiley now says in her blog that even the dumbed down versions of the books have been discontinued. The people in the suits need to use common sense - why shorten an already short book? And copyright law means no one else is allowed to write the sequels, not even the author herself. Talk about 'dumbed' down.

What a sweet book. I really enjoyed it. Very nice to read about the highlands and their way of life back then. Very informative book. Great for kids and adults!

Also,it is great to read about Laura Ingalls Wilder's ancestors. Fascinating indeed. Melissa Wiley has an enchanting way of writing. You can see where Laura got her fiestiness, charm and energy.

I recommend this book for you and your children!

This book is totally great. Martha Morse, the main character in this book has many memorable advantures, from a dirty dust-gown to a washing near the lake with Mollie and Nannie, two of the servants. The book is intersting and really fun to read. Martha longs to play on the hills of Scotland insted of doing her dreaded sewing lessons. The book is not only fun to read, but intersting, and it leaves you wondering what will happen next to this little lass and her family. (And her adventures.) Little House in the Highlands is wonderful. The book is very excellent to read, and I think that any one who reads Little House in the Highlands will agree with me one hundred percent.

Six-year-old Martha is a spunky wee lass who will charm old and young alike. Ms. Wiley has knowingly portrayed the frustration of a young child who not only can't yet behave like her proper older sister, but can't even seem to want to. Children can relate to her for this spark of mischief--for after all, children seem to identify with a naughty hero/ine sooner than they do with a nice one. Ms. Wiley's knowledge of eighteenth-century Scotland is equally impressive, but best of all is her command of diction. I read the book aloud to my five-year-old daughter and the sentences rolled effortlessly off my tongue in ready-made brogue. The dialect is set clearly in context and, with only minor clarifications here and there, is easy to follow, even for one so young. Now add to the formula little Martha's first-hand experiences of the day-to-day grind of the estate and the book becomes educational on many levels. The author has a knack for including both details and storylines that will engage a young child's imagination. So in the final analysis, the book is engrossing, educational, even escapist. It's not often a book can do this for both a five-year-old and her mother!

This is a very good story of a little girl named Martha, who grew up in Scotland in 1788. It is about Martha and her family, and the people around her. Some of the Scottish terms and accents are hard to understand. I highly recommend this book for students in grades 3 through 6.

Little House in the Highlands is a very nice book to curl up with on a Saturday afternoon, but it is not a very good history book to read for school. This is only the first book- I think the other three books are much better than this one. However, you should read this book. I found it very enjoyable and the fairy tales told in it are very interesting. (By the way, you might have trouble reading this book if you're not used to a Scottish accent).

Little House in the Highlands tells about six-year-old Martha Morse, who would grow up to be Laura Ingalls Wilder's great-grandmother, while she's living in Scotland in 1788. Martha wants to be good and ladylike like her sister Grisie, but it's impossible for her to sit still during a spinning lesson when her brothers are outside playing on the rolling hills. And it's very hard for her to hold her tounge. Will Martha ever stop getting into trouble? Find out in this great book!

Six-year-old Martha is a spunky wee lass who will charm old and young alike. Ms. Wiley has knowingly portrayed the frustration of a young child who not only can't yet behave like her proper older sister, but can't even seem to want to. Children can relate to her for this spark of mischief--for after all, children seem to identify with a naughty hero/ine sooner than they do with a nice one. Ms. Wiley's knowledge of eighteenth-century Scotland is equally impressive, but best of all is her command of diction. I read the book aloud to my five-year-old daughter and the sentences rolled effortlessly off my tongue in ready-made brogue. The dialect is set clearly in context and, with only minor clarifications here and there, is easy to follow, even for one so young. Now add to the formula little Martha's first-hand experiences of the day-to-day grind of the estate and the book becomes educational on many levels. The author has a knack for including both details and storylines that will engage a young child's imagination. So in the final analysis, the book is engrossing, educational, even escapist. It's not often a book can do this for both a five-year-old and her mother!

This is a wonderful series, enjoyed by myself as much as my daughters. After reading all of the Martha books, Martha Morse and her family live in my head, they're well written, delightful characters. Make sure you search out one of the original, unabridged editions. The ones with photographs on the cover are severely abridged. It's amazing what publishers can get away with. If the same were done to beautiful paintings or statues it would be called vandalism.

Six-year-old Martha lives in a stone house in Glencaraid, Scotland, in 1788, with her father, who is Laird of Glencaraid, her mother, her older brothers, Robbie, Duncan, and Alistair, and her older sister, Grisie. Martha would much rather play games on the rolling hills with her brothers and the tenant children then sew and knit with Mum and Grisie. This book is the first in a series about the childhood adventures of Martha Morse Tucker, Laura Ingalls Wilder's great-grandmother. I really enjoyed this book.