Ralph Moody (author)
Encyclopedia
Ralph Owen Moody was an American author who wrote 17 novels and autobiographies about the American West. He was born in East Rochester, New Hampshire
in 1898 but moved to Colorado
with his family when he was eight in the hopes that a dry climate would improve his father Charles's tuberculosis. Moody detailed his experiences in Colorado in the first book of the Little Britches series, Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers
.
After his father died, eleven-year-old Moody assumed the duties of the "man of the house". He and his sister Grace combined ingenuity with hard work in a variety of odd jobs to help their mother provide for their large family. The Moody clan returned to the East Coast some time after Charles's death, but Moody had difficulty readjusting. Following more than one ill-timed run-in with local law enforcement, he left the family home near Boston to live on his grandfather's farm in Maine. His later Little Britches books cover his time in Maine and subsequent travels through Arizona
, New Mexico
, Nebraska
, and Kansas
– including stints as a bust sculptor and a horse rider doing "horse falls" for motion pictures – as he worked his way back toward Colorado while continuing to support his family financially.
Moody's formal education was limited, but he had a lifelong interest in learning and self-education. At age 50, he enrolled in a writing class, which eventually led to the publication of Father and I Were Ranchers. In addition to the Little Britches series, Moody wrote a number of books detailing the development of the American West. His books have been described as crude in the language of the times but are highly praised by Moody's readership and have been in continuous publication since 1950.
After a period as livestock business owner in rural Kansas, Moody sent to Massachusetts
for his former sweetheart, Edna. They married and moved to Kansas City. They had three children.
East Rochester, New Hampshire
East Rochester is a district of the city of Rochester, New Hampshire, located on the banks of the Salmon Falls River, which separates Maine from New Hampshire...
in 1898 but moved to Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
with his family when he was eight in the hopes that a dry climate would improve his father Charles's tuberculosis. Moody detailed his experiences in Colorado in the first book of the Little Britches series, Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers
Little Britches
Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers is an autobiographical account of Ralph Moody's early life in the vicinity of Littleton, Colorado. This is the first book in the very popular series on Moody's life...
.
After his father died, eleven-year-old Moody assumed the duties of the "man of the house". He and his sister Grace combined ingenuity with hard work in a variety of odd jobs to help their mother provide for their large family. The Moody clan returned to the East Coast some time after Charles's death, but Moody had difficulty readjusting. Following more than one ill-timed run-in with local law enforcement, he left the family home near Boston to live on his grandfather's farm in Maine. His later Little Britches books cover his time in Maine and subsequent travels through Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, and Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
– including stints as a bust sculptor and a horse rider doing "horse falls" for motion pictures – as he worked his way back toward Colorado while continuing to support his family financially.
Moody's formal education was limited, but he had a lifelong interest in learning and self-education. At age 50, he enrolled in a writing class, which eventually led to the publication of Father and I Were Ranchers. In addition to the Little Britches series, Moody wrote a number of books detailing the development of the American West. His books have been described as crude in the language of the times but are highly praised by Moody's readership and have been in continuous publication since 1950.
After a period as livestock business owner in rural Kansas, Moody sent to Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
for his former sweetheart, Edna. They married and moved to Kansas City. They had three children.
Novels
- Kit Carson and the Wild Frontier (1955)
- Geronimo, Wolf of the Warpath (1958)
- Riders of the Pony Express (1958)
- Wells Fargo (1961)
- Silver and Lead: The Birth and Death of a Mining Town (1961)
- America Horses (1962)
- Come on Seabiscuit (1963)
- The Old Trails West (1963)
- Stagecoach West (1967)
Autobiographies
- Little BritchesLittle BritchesLittle Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers is an autobiographical account of Ralph Moody's early life in the vicinity of Littleton, Colorado. This is the first book in the very popular series on Moody's life...
(1950) - Man of the Family (1951)
- The Home Ranch (1956)
- Mary Emma & Company (1961)
- The Fields of Home (1953)
- Shaking the Nickel Bush (1962)
- Dry Divide (1963)
- Horse of a Different Color (1968)
External links
- Ralph Moody – Littleton History Biographies
- Guide to the Ralph Moody Papers at The Bancroft Library