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Friday, April 08, 2016

Girl of the Limberlost #atozchallenge



A few years ago, I read Girl of the Limberlost, by Gene Stratton Porter, for the first time. It's actually the sequel to Freckles, which I haven't read yet. GOL was one of my grandmother's favorite books. It was published in 1909, which probably explains the name of the main character: Elnora.

Gene Stratton Porter was born in Indiana, and was an author, naturalist, and nature photographer. According to Wikipedia, she was also one of the first women to form a movie studio and production company. How cool is that? The Limberlost Swamp, the setting for the book, is a real place. Here's a picture from the state of Indiana website - over 428 acres preserved for nature study!



I read this book when I lived in North Carolina and was homesick for Michigan, which made the story's setting of Indiana near and dear to my Midwestern heart. I loved reading about all the different kinds of moths Elnora collected. It's been a lot of years, and it was well before I began commonplacing, so I don't have any favorite quotes to share with you. I remember it being a story about a strong young woman who persevered through a great deal of hardship and poverty, and made a success of herself, finding love in the process. I remember feeling a special connection with the story, knowing my grandmother loved it.

I've heard lots of good things about Gene Stratton-Porter's other books, too, and am looking forward to exploring more of her books. If you'd like to read Girl of the Limberlost, here are some links:

  • Free for Kindle here
  • Gene Stratton-Porter's collected works, $0.99 for Kindle, here
  • Free online at Project Gutenberg here
  • Paperback copy here
If you've read any of Gene Stratton-Porter's books, what was your favorite?

3 comments:

  1. J here, stopping by from the #atozchallenge - where I am part of Arlee Bird's A to Z Ambassador Team.
    How has the first week of the challenge been for you so far? Are you meeting your goals of posting and hopping to other blogs?
    My blog has a giveaway with bonus a to z challenges to encourage people to visit more stops.
    http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com
    I've followed your G+. Thanks for the book recommendation. I picked up a copy. Sweet!

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  2. I'm not familiar with that author but I love the name Elnora. Might use that sometime. Nice to meet you on A to Z.

    Susan Says

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  3. I've never read the book though I do have a video of a movie made based on the book. I haven't watched that movie in 20 years so I don't remember what it was like.

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Tossing It Out

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