A Girl of the Limberlost (Library of Indiana Classics)
by Gene Stratton-Porter
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Book Summary Information
Author: Gene Stratton-PorterEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1984-09-22
ISBN: 0253203317
Number of pages: 496
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Book Reviews of A Girl of the Limberlost (Library of Indiana Classics)
Book Review: Heartfelt, Uplifting Early Twentieth Century YA Romance
Summary: 5 Stars
Elnora Comstock, the plucky, resourceful heroine of this classic novel, first published in 1909, is a character who is still relevant and fascinating for today's readers. "A Girl of the Limberlost" was one of my favorite books as a girl, and it was one of my mother's and my grandmother's favorites. Like other timeless literary heroines who overcome great odds to achieve happiness (such as Anne of "Anne of Green Gables" and Jo of "Little Women"), Elnora is eternally fiesty, admirable and loveable.
When the novel opens, Elnora is determined to attend the high school in a nearby township. Her neglectful, sometimes abusive mother, Katharine, is equally determined to discourage her and ruin her dreams. Elnora and Katharine live in a cabin on the edge of the great Limberlost swamp, a place of wonder and danger, located three miles from the township where Elnora wants to go to school. The hard, cold Katharine is haunted by the death of her husband on the very day Elnora was born. She blames her only child for the death of her beloved husband because her birth kept Katharine from having the strength to aid her husband when he was drowning in the swamp.
On the first day of high school, Elnora's tacky clothes and inability to fit in with the snooty mean girls, along with the fact that she learns she will needs an unexpected amount of money for books and tuition leads her to brief despair. But her own ingenuity, along with the help of a loving neighbor couple, Margaret and Wesley Sinton, solve some of Elnora's problems.
I love the many intricate details in this book about Elnora's life in a rural early twentieth century world. For instance, the Sintons purchase clothing and accessories so that Elnora can fit in with her classmates. One article is a wonderful leather lunchbox which contains lidded dishes to hold small sandwiches, salad, condiments, dessert, milk, utensils and a cloth napkin. The descriptions of the different foods which are used to fill this lunchbox, and how Elnora's lunches eventually play a part in her meeting some destitute children whom she ultimately aides, are just fascinating.
Elnora is able to earn her way through school by her mastery of the natural world around her. She collects moths, butterflies, old Indian relics, bird's nests, specimens of tree leaves, flowers and grasses, and then either sells them or uses them to teach classes in natural history to grade school children. Her forays into the Limberlost, and what she finds there are described in loving detail.
The characters in the book are also memorable. How Katharine Comstock comes to change her outlook on life, and learn some hard lessons about the importance of motherhood and the real character of her dead husband is told with great depth of feeling. But this is not a cloying or overly sentimental book. These characters are very real and hold up very well to a twenty-first century reader's more sophisticated tastes.
Even the romance at the end of the novel, between Elnora and a handsome lawyer from Chicago, who are brought together by their love of the outdoors, is believable by today's standards. A deliciously malevolent and spoiled ex-fiancee who seeks to ruin Elnora's chance at true love is introduced, but all ends happily for everyone.
I recommend this novel highly. Gene Stratton-Porter was an important, prolific writer, and if you like this book, you should seek some other titles, especially "Freckles". "Freckles" is the prequel to "A Girl of the Limberlost" and is also a wonderful story about a young man overcoming adversity and finding love.
This review is for the Library of Indiana Classics paperback edition of the novel. This edition contains the complete text, but does not contain any essays or criticism. The Library of Indiana Classics also issues a hardback edition of the novel. You can also get the complete text of the novel at no cost for your Kindle, as the text for the novel has entered public domain. The same is true for "Freckles."
Summary of A Girl of the Limberlost (Library of Indiana Classics)
Of all the books written by Hoosier writers, Gene Stratton-Porter's A Girl of the Limberlost is unquestionably the most cherished: the timeless story of an impoverished young girl, Elnora Comstock, growing up on the edge of the Limberlost swamp. Elnora Comstock has served as a role model for successive generations of independent young readers.
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