Ralph Moody

Ralph Moody, born 1898, was an American writer and cowboy best known for his autobiographical novel series, Little Britches, which chronicles his childhood growing up Colorado. Like the character in his first book, Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers, Moody moved from his home in East Rochester, New Hampshire, to a ranch near Littleton, Colorado at the age of eight. After his father died, 11-year-old Moody assumed his father’s responsibilities, working with sister Grace to provide for his mother and siblings. When Moody and his family eventually returned to the East Coast, Moody had trouble adjusting and soon left his family to live on his grandfather’s farm in Maine. From there, he traveled west, working odd jobs to support his family as he slowly made his way back to Colorado. In 1922, he married Edna Huggins of Boston, moving to Kansas City, Missouri and having three children. After several years at Procter & Gamble Company, a consumer goods company, he moved to California, starting new work at B/G Foods, Inc. At the age of 50, he began taking writing classes, leading him to write Little Britches. In total, Moody wrote 17 novels, most centered around the American West and many based around his own life experiences. Moody outlived his wife, who died in the early 1970s, and spent his last years in Massachusetts with his mother, Mary Emma, and younger sister, Elizabeth. He died in 1982.