Laura Ingalls Wilder? Melissa Gilbert? Michael Landon? John Hawkins? William Putman? Apocryphal?
Dear Quote Investigator: A comfortable and welcoming home is one of life’s greatest boons. The following remark resonates with people who have an enjoyable domestic life:
Home is the nicest word there is.
This statement is usually attributed to U.S. writer Laura Ingalls Wilder who is best known for the “Little House” series of children’s books. However, I have been unable to find this quotation in her oeuvre. Thus, I suspect the phrase has been misattributed. Would you please explore the provenance of this expression?
Quote Investigator: Researchers have been unable to find this statement in the writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder, but the confusion about the source is understandable because the phrase occurred in an episode of the popular television series “Little House on the Prairie” which was based on Wilder’s books.
The series ran between 1974 and 1983. The first episode after the pilot was titled “A Harvest of Friends”. The character Laura Ingalls played by Melissa Gilbert was the narrator. Laura conversed with her father Charles Ingalls played by Michael Landon while sitting in her bedroom in the newly built family home. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[ref] Television Series: Little House on the Prairie, Episode 1 (After Pilot): A Harvest of Friends, Broadcast on: NBC television network, Release date in U.S.: September 11, 1974, Teleplay by: John Hawkins and William Putman, Story: John Hawkins, Developed for television by: Blanche Hanalis, Based on book series by: Laura Ingalls Wilder, (Quotation starts at 6 minutes 37 seconds of 49 minutes),(Viewed on Amazon Prime May 27, 2022) [/ref]
Laura: And I’ve decided something.
Charles: What’s that, Half-Pint?
Laura: Home is the nicest word there is.
Charles: One of the nicest, that’s for sure.
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) specifies John Hawkins and William Putman as creators of the episode teleplay. Hence, this duo probably deserves credit for the dialog.[ref] Website: Internet Movie Database IMDb, Television Series: Little House on the Prairie, Episode Title: A Harvest of Friends, Season: 1, Writing Credits for Teleplay: John Hawkins and William Putman, Website description: Database of information about movies, television, and video. (Accessed imdb.com on May 28, 2022) link [/ref]
Laura Ingalls Wilder did employ a pre-existing proverb that extolled the value of homes within one of her books. Details are given below.
Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.
In 1848 “The Literary Gazette” of London printed a collection of proverbs that included the following five items:[ref] 1848 August 19, The Literary Gazette, Section: Original, and Curiosities of Literature, Article: Proverbs and Popular Sayings, Quote Page 557, Column 3, Published for the Proprietor at The Literary Gazette Office, London, England. (Google Books Full View) link [/ref]
Longest at the fireside soonest feels the cold.
Give God the first and last of every day.
East or west home is best.
Empty stalls make biting horses.
A good day’s work may be done with a dirty spade.
The proverb about homes listed above circulated for decades. For example, in 1895 “The Farmers’ Review” published a version containing the word “the”:[ref] 1895 September 25, The Farmers’ Review, Revival of the Motto, Quote Page 622, Quote Page 3, Hannibal H. Chandler & Company, Chicago, Illinois. (Google Books Full View) link [/ref]
The favorite place for this motto is over the fireplace, either above or below the mantel shelf, and of all the old ones, “East or west, home is the best,” with its variety of expressions, is the favorite …
In 1943 Laura Ingalls Wilder published another book in her “Little House” series called “These Happy Golden Years”. She titled the twelfth chapter the following:[ref] 1943 Copyright, These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Chapter 12: East or West, Home Is Best, Quote Page 99, Harper & Brothers, New York. (Verified with scans) [/ref]
East or West, Home Is Best
In 2013 “Small Apartment Hacks: 101 Ingenious DIY Solutions for Living, Organizing, and Entertaining” attributed the quotation under examination to Wilder:[ref] 2013, Small Apartment Hacks: 101 Ingenious DIY Solutions for Living, Organizing, and Entertaining by Jenna Mahoney, Part One: Organizing, Chapter: Furniture, Quote Page 24, Ulysses Press, Berkeley, California. (Verified with scans) [/ref]
“Home is the nicest word there is.”
—LAURA INGALLS WILDER
In 2015 “Grounded: Finding God in the World” by Diana Butler Bass included a passage about the “Little House” books and the quotation:[ref] 2015, Grounded: Finding God in the World — A Spiritual Revolution by Diana Butler Bass, Chapter 5: Home, Quote Page 164, HarperOne: An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, New York. (Verified with scans) [/ref]
Laura’s tension, clear in the books, is between the impulse to move and the desire to stay, being torn between her sedate mother and unstable father. So the comment, “‘Home’ is the nicest word there is” (which does not, to my knowledge, actually appear in the original books), raises a surprising question: What constitutes “home”?
In conclusion, in 1974 the actress Melissa Gilbert playing the character Laura Ingalls delivered the line “Home is the nicest word there is” during an episode of the television series “Little House on the Prairie”. John Hawkins and William Putman wrote the teleplay for the episode.
This line does not appear in the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She did use the proverb “East or West, Home Is Best” expressing a similar idea in her 1943 book “These Happy Golden Years”.
(Great thanks to Sarah Uthoff whose comments led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Uthoff told QI about the quotation, and she stated that it was not present in the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder, but it did occur during a television episode. Thanks also to Kopikido who told QI about the proverb in “These Happy Golden Years”.)