Does anyone know who I am talking about? :)

[Twinkle]

Hi everyone!

Years ago I heard about this woman who, from what I understood, is quite well-known but at the time I had never heard of her. She was a lady who lived basically quite Little House on the Prairie style. She had no electricity and lived very simply  and also dressed true to the period. From what I vaguely remember there were pictures of her home and a beautiful garden and I believe she was an author. 

I was just reminded of her and those beautiful pictures I saw of her home but I cant remember her name or anything more about her.  Does anyone know who I am talking about?

 

[Twinkle]

I believe she is not alive anymore today. She was well known apparently as an older woman some years ago and she dressed in 1800s style clothes and lived a simple live. 

[church_of_dog]

I’m sure this isn’t who you mean but your question reminded me of Helen and Scott Nearing.  They were the original gurus of the “back to the land” movement.  They left the city and moved to rural Vermont starting in the 1930s and did pretty much everything by hand.  They wrote books about living simply.  But they didn’t dress in period clothing, just in practical farm clothes mostly.  If you think of you were trying to remember, please post as I’m curious!

[Palimpsest]

On 10/24/2017 at 4:41 PM, Twinkle said:

Does anyone know who I am talking about?

I'm going with -- Tasha Tudor.  Eccentricity, corgies, and cuteness.

https://www.tashatudorandfamily.com/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasha_Tudor

She lived in Vermont and rather off the grid.  Built up a big following.  Her children appreciated her when they were tiny, were not very fond of her as they grew up, but are seriously cashing in on her legacy.

She had major talents but I'm glad she wasn't my mother.  You do have to dig a bit to get the dirt.

[Twinkle]

18 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

I'm going with -- Tasha Tudor.  Eccentricity, corgies, and cuteness.

https://www.tashatudorandfamily.com/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasha_Tudor

She lived in Vermont and rather off the grid.  Built up a big following.  Her children appreciated her when they were tiny, were not very fond of her as they grew up, but are seriously cashing in on her legacy.

She had major talents but I'm glad she wasn't my mother.  You do have to dig a bit to get the dirt.

 

Yes, that's her!! Thank you so much. I only remember seeing the pictures of her and wanted to see them again but google wasn't much help without a name. So, I was wrong about her being an author, she was an illustrator. There is dirt on her?

19 hours ago, church_of_dog said:

I’m sure this isn’t who you mean but your question reminded me of Helen and Scott Nearing.  They were the original gurus of the “back to the land” movement.  They left the city and moved to rural Vermont starting in the 1930s and did pretty much everything by hand.  They wrote books about living simply.  But they didn’t dress in period clothing, just in practical farm clothes mostly.  If you think of you were trying to remember, please post as I’m curious!

It was Tasha Tudor!

But thanks for giving me the names of this couple, new things to look up. I find it fascinating to watch documentaries or read about people living in this way.

[Palimpsest]

You are very welcome.  I'm glad I could help.

Tasha Tudor was an interesting woman.  She was primarily an illustrator but also authored some children's books.  She was very talented, very eccentric, and in some ways reclusive - living in her own fairy tale land of dollies, corgies, and gardens.  Some of her children outgrew her and the fairy tale stuff and she hated that.

So, not really bad dirt, but some.  I think some people want to romanticise her, but she can't have been easy to live with.  She had 2 divorces, and was estranged from 3 of her 4 children when she died.  She  had a "favorite son" and rather alienated the others. 

Her will was strongly contested by the estranged children who were basically disinherited.  It was covered in the newspapers at the time and it got very nasty.  I don't remember how it all turned out but there is a lot of information about her - and occasional exhibitions of her work you can look for - now you know her name.