Louise Dickinson Rich

Louise Dickinson Rich was an iconic Maine writer.  Born in Massachusetts in 1903, Louise Dickinson met her future husband, Ralph Rich, on a canoeing trip to the Rangeley area in western Maine in 1933.  Ralph, and engineer and Louise, a teacher, were both fed up with everyday life and ended up falling in love and living together in a cabin in the woods of Forest Lodge, on the Rapid River.

Both of the Riches were skilled writers, but Louise found the most success.  She began writing articles for numerous magazines, which were very lucrative in those days.  With her writing income, she was able to help provide the basic necessities for her and Ralph’s growing family.  The stories eventually morphed into books.  Rich was a prolific writer and eventually authored 24 books and dozens of short stories and articles published in magazines.

Louise Dickinson Rich is best known for her popular book “We Took to the Woods” and its sequel, “My Neck of the Woods”, which told stories of the Riches’ life away from it all in the Maine woods.  She wrote several historical books including “State o’ Maine”, and outdoor fiction for young adults, including “Start of the Trail”, an adventure story of a young Maine guide.  She also had a “First Book” series, where she wrote historical books for young children.  Rich’s life and writing are summarized in a biography written by Alice Arlen in 2000, entitled “She Took to the Woods”.

Louise Dickinson Rich books:

We Took to the Woods (1942)

Happy the Land (1946)

Start of the Trail (1949)

My Neck of the Woods (1950)

Trail to the North (1952)

Only Parent (1953)

Innocence Under the Elms (1955)

The Coast of Maine (1956; revised 1962)

First Book of New England (1957)

The Peninsula (1958)

Mindy (1959)

First Book of Early Settlers (1959)

First Book of New World Explorers (1960)

The Natural World of Louise Dickinson Rich (1962)

First Book of Vikings (1962)

First Book of China Clippers (1962)

The Forest Years (1963)

State o’ Maine (1964)

First Book of the Fur Trade (1965)

The Kennebec River (1967)

Star Island Boy (1968)

Three of a Kind (1970)

King Philip’s War (1972)

Summer at High Kingdom (1975)

She Took to the Woods (biography by Alice Arlen, 2000)