Susan Edmonstone Ferrier Ferrier visited Walter Scott at Ashiestiel Farm and House on the banks of the River Tweed, near Clovenfords in the Scottish Borders, and again in 1829 and 1831 at his new house, Abbotsford. They enjoyed each other's company and he wrote of her: "This gifted personage besides having great talents has conversation the least exigeant of any author, female at least..., simple, full of humour, and exceedingly ready at repartee, and all this without the least affectation of the blue stocking." He mentioned her in the same sentence as Maria Edgeworth and Frances Burney in 1825. Ferrier's account of the
On the Banks of Plum Creek Ozarks in Missouri. Decades later, she, who had been writing columns and editing for a regional farm newspaper, was encouraged by Rose to write a memoir of growing up on the frontier for national serialization—mostly for financial reasons. Wilder wrote "Pioneer Girl", an adult version of her autobiography, before she wrote her book series. When it proved unsellable to publishers, Rose suggested they rethink it, leading to the series. Some of the real-life events were either softened or taken out entirely for a younger audience. On the Banks of Plum Creek On the Banks of Plum Creek is an autobiographical