Ralph Moody penned seventeen novels and autobiographies chronicling the American West, focusing on themes of resilience, hard work, and family in the face of adversity. His narratives vividly capture the spirit of the frontier, detailing the ingenuity and determination required to build a life in a challenging landscape. Though his formal education was limited, Moody's lifelong commitment to self-study and his direct, unvarnished prose brought the development of the West to life for countless readers. His works, praised for their authenticity and enduring appeal, have remained in continuous publication since their inception.
Set in Colorado, this narrative continues Ralph Moody's childhood recollections, focusing on his twelfth year. It serves as a companion piece to his earlier works, Little Britches and Man of the Family, while offering new stories and experiences. The book delves into themes of family, resilience, and the adventures of youth, providing a heartfelt glimpse into Moody's formative years without repeating the earlier tales.
A biography of the Apache Indian chief who led one of the last great Indian uprisings in the 19th century.
The protagonist, Mary Emma Moody, widowed mother of six, has taken her family east in 1912 to begin a new life. Her son, Ralph, then thirteen, recalls how the Moodys survive that first bleak winter in a Massachusetts town. Money and prospects are lacking, but not so faith and resourcefulness. "Mother" in Little Britches and Man of the Family , Mary Emma emerges fully as a character in this book, and Ralph, no longer called "Little Britches," comes into his own. The family’s run-ins with authority and with broken furnaces in winter are evocative of a full and warm family life. Mary Emma & Company continues the Moody saga that started in Colorado with Little Britches and runs through Man of the Family and The Home Ranch . All these titles have been reprinted as Bison Books, as has The Fields of Home , in which Ralph leaves the Massachusetts town for his grandfather's farm in Maine.
Fortified with Yankee ingenuity and western can-do energy, the Moody family, transplanted from New England, builds a new life on a Colorado ranch early in the twentieth century. Father has died and Little Britches shoulders the responsibilities of a man at age eleven. Man of the Family continues true pioneering adventures as unforgettable as those in Little Britches and The Fields of Home, also available as Bison Books.