Author Visit: Alison Arngrim and Wendy McClure

Fans of the 1970s TV series “Little House on the Prairie” will soon get the chance to meet actress and author AlisonArngrim, who played the show’s notorious mean girl, Nellie Oleson. Arngrim will appear at the Waukegan Public Library June 21 at 6:30 p.m. to promote her new book, “Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated.” Joining Arngrim will be Wendy McClure, a “Little House” devotee and author of “The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of ‘Little House on the Prairie.’”

Arngrim will share funny anecdotes about her experience working on the show, including details about the sets and costumes, cast members and their relationships. Throughout her visit, clips of “Little House on the Prairie” TV episodes will air featuring Arngrim and her co-actors including Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert. The actress will also reveal some personal challenges she’s faced as a Hollywood kid and beyond, and how the experience helped spark a new career in political activism.

Oak Park native Wendy McClure began what she calls her obsession with Laura Ingalls Wilder as a young girl. She grew up immersed in Wilder’s popular series of “Little House” books about a pioneer family in the late 1800s. In “The Wilder Life,” McClure describes how as an adult she retraced the Ingalls family journey, from the “Big Woods” of Wisconsin to the western prairies. McClure will share some of the lessons she learned about “Little House” values, and how Wilder’s life and work have helped shape her own.

Lake Forest Bookstore will offer copies of “Confessions of a Prairie Bitch” and “The Wilder Life” for sale at the event for the authors to sign. The event is intended for mature audiences only, since some topics may be inappropriate for children. To register, click here.