A Girl of the Limberlost (Dell Yearling Classic)

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A Girl of the Limberlost (Limberlost #2)

4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 · rating details · 7,577 ratings · 842 reviews

Wounded by her embittered mother's lack of sympathy, Elnora finds comfort in the nearby Limberlost Swamp. A wonderful story and a book to treasure.

Paperback, 416 pages

Published September 1st 1986 by Yearling (first published 1909)

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A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter

The Old Man in the Corner by Emmuska Orczy

Best Books of 1909

3rd out of 12 books — 11 voters

The Seer and the Sword by Victoria Hanley

Best Lesser-Known Books

422nd out of 571 books — 753 voters

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Jul 10, 2009 Sparrow rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Sarah Palin

Shelves: reviewed

Childrens' books like A Girl of the Limberlost remind me of the instruction manuals that come with furniture that you have to assemble yourself. They are assembly instructions for morality. Life is so easy, and there are little stick people on the pages to show you how it is all done successfully. I adored Little Women when I was a kid, for example, but in recent years I've tried to re-read it a couple of times, and I can't get past the part where Marmie makes the girls give up their Christmas b...more Childrens' books like A Girl of the Limberlost remind me of the instruction manuals that come with furniture that you have to assemble yourself. They are assembly instructions for morality. Life is so easy, and there are little stick people on the pages to show you how it is all done successfully. I adored Little Women when I was a kid, for example, but in recent years I've tried to re-read it a couple of times, and I can't get past the part where Marmie makes the girls give up their Christmas breakfast so that the starving German children won't die of cold and hunger. It's so simple! If we give up a little of what is ours and have kind of a crappy Christmas but pretend it's fun, our parents (and God, by association) will love us. It's not that I disagree with the message that unselfishness makes us better (and even happier) people, and I know if I ever have a daughter I will read her Little Women. I just think that the delivery is too simplistic to be very honest, and it kind of gives me the creeps. I had that same creepy and confused feeling reading A Girl of the Limberlost. I would not say I'm appalled at anyone who loves this book, and the person who recommended it to me is a dear friend, but I can't let this reading pass without noting how uncomfortable it makes me.

This book was written 100 years ago - about a generation after Little Women. While Little Women is a quintessential example of American morality lessons, A Girl of the Limberlost is American capitalism through and through. The central struggle of the book is a basic Cinderella plot, wherein the beautiful Elnora has been caged in the Limberlost forest by her mother, who became bitter and mean after the death of Elnora's father. They own a huge amount of land and timber (note word choice), where Elnora catches moths and butterflies and communes with nature. Elnora, however, is basically a genius (on top of being the most naturally beautiful girl anyone has met), so she wants to go to high school in the nearby town, and her stingy mother will not buy her the clothes and books necessary to do so. All of this we know within the first few chapters of the book, and it's pretty obvious whose side we're on, right? Gotta go with Cinderella, not the evil mother.

Stratton-Porter makes it very obvious that the reader is intended to see how selfish and unreasonable the mother's argument is for not giving Elnora the fancy clothes she wants (no, sorry, needs), and Elnora is presented as a purely heroic character, without any intention of irony that I could detect. It was very conflicting, then to be 100% on the mother's side of the argument. I'll give you a selection of how the argument is characterized throughout the book to see if you agree. This is from a moment in which Elnora runs in a panic to her friend, the Bird Woman, because her mother didn't buy her a new dress for graduation:

"Elnora," she said, "Forgive me, but tell me truly. Is your mother so extremely poor as to make this necessary?"

"No," answered Elnora. "Next year I am heir to my share of over three hundred acres of land covered with almost as valuable timber as was in the Liberlost. We adjoin it. There could be dozens of oil wells drilled that would yield to us the thousands our neighbors are draining from under us, and the bare land is worth over one hundred dollars an acre for farming. She is not poor, she is - I don't know what she is. A great trouble soured and warped her..."

Kind of creepy, no? If you love your kids, you'll kill the forest. And this "Drill, baby, drill!" theme runs through the whole book. Elnora denudes the Limberlost of moths because she can sell them to pay for school. At the same time, she represents nature within the book because she loves the forest and knows everything about animals and plants. So, we learn, if we really love and understand nature, we use it to get us the stuff we want. I think there's a cartoon version of this story on Fox News starring Sarah Palin. It kind of makes me mad that a tree died to print this book. It was also a reality check for my own behavior (in the opposite way of what was intended) because it always seems vague to me when people talk about the ramifications of our behavior on people 100 years from now. This made it much more real because I kept wanting to get in my time machine (patent pending) and fly back to get this ridiculous girl not to replace the forest with farms and oil wells. I hope no one feels like that about me in 2109.

Aside from my problems with all of the basic messages of the book (and my problem with a side story that makes me very uncomfortable about a very Dickensian street urchin and his family), it had a fairly engaging plot. I'm a sucker for love stories to the point that even if I really dislike everything else, I still want to see the love story play out in a book. This one also had the bonus of every woman in the story learning that if she devoted her entire existence to her husband and kids, she would find true happiness. *shudder*(less)

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Connie Thank you for writing your review. It gave me some things to think about while deciding whether or not I'll read this book. You did mention the book w...more
Nov 30, 2012 01:08am

Sparrow Right, but the fact that it was/is normal doesn't really make it more pleasant to read about for me. I would agree with you to a certain extent that a...more
updated Nov 30, 2012 07:20am

Jul 22, 2007 Nicola O. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of old-fashioned young adult books

Shelves: youngadult

Read lots and lots of GSP when I was a kid-- Girl of the Limberlost remains my favorite. It's an engrossing coming-of-age story with elements of redemption and romance, set in rural Indiana, early 20th century (I would guess by the publication date). I think most adolescent girls can relate to Elnora's struggles with her mother, and the resolution of that is very satisfying. Elnora herself triumphs over adversity through courage, integrity, and hard work, but is not obnoxiously saintly. The auth...more

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Sep 05, 2010 Mariel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: sting like a moth

Recommended to Mariel by: pnin me like a moth

I got this as a random find on ten cent day for my local library's book sale in 2009. It was okay at first, if outdated in all sensibilities. The naturist parts were interesting. It was funny how the girl treasured the wild that was increasingly (back then even?) encroached on by society, yet she collected those rare moths to be stuck with pins (!) for profit so that she could join the society she was kept away from by her uncaring mother. Guess she wasn't too sad about it, after all. Her mother...more

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Dec 17, 2007 Elaine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: High school or older

My mother always wanted me to read this book, it was a favorite of hers. She probably read it in the 30s. Well, I've finally done it! Written in 1909, it is definitely an example of the writing style of that time. There are many things to interest modern readers, though, from young teen through mature adult.

The protagonist, Elnora, is a student of nature, and she specializes in moths. The descriptions of the moths, the birds, the flowers of the beautiful Indiana woodlands are glowing. We learn...more

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May 15, 2007 Lily rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Those who have worked hard for what they believe in

Shelves: favorite

This is one of the books that I have read probably 100 times. It is the story of Elnora Comstock, a poor farm girl that loved the outdoors, mainly the Liberlost swamp beside her home. All Elnora wants is to go to high school, but her mother disagrees and makes life incredibly difficult for Elnora. Through the story you see Elnora go from a socially sheltered girl to a confident and beautiful lady. Everytime I read this book, I want to visit Indiana to see if anything is left of the Limberlost sw...more

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Feb 22, 2012 Kathryn Bundy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Since I was able to download this childhood classic for free, I reread it for the first time since I was a girl. I have long held that it was one of my favorites from about the age of ten. It seemed mysterious and magical to me then. As I read it with the eyes of an adult five decades later, it reminded me of how many books from my grandparents' shelves were the morality tales that shaped my reading life and my worldview. It is a book of its time, in some ways more advanced than one would expect...more

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Oct 03, 2010 Kristin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: top-all-time-favorites

This is now one of my top favorite books of all time. It sucked me deep into another time and place, which was lovely, comforting, beautiful, and fantastic. It's ahead of its time in its treatment of women, in that the protagonist is an intelligent, independent woman who both warrants respect and gives it to all people and all living things--a scientist, a scholar, a musician, and a teacher all in one. The characters are richly painted, and the story is full of suspense and surprise, as well as...more

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May 28, 2008 Jeana rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Although I believe this book was written before Anne of Green Gables, this read like a mediocre version of Anne. It wasn't that I disliked this book while I was reading it, but it just didn't ring true for me. Especially the part about Elnora's graduation when she was being such a brat about the dresses her mother wouldn't buy for her. Anne of Green Gables handled the lack of dresses she wanted so much more graciously than Elnora did. I didn't feel sorry for her anymore after that. And I lost al...more

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Jul 30, 2008 Piebakersue rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a popular book back in the very early 20th century, when it was written. It's dated but nevertheless quite interesting. The limberlost is a sort of swamp of 13,000 acres in Indiana (thank you wikipedia) and the girl, whose name I have forgotten. No, I remember, it was Elnora, lives on the edge with her crazy mother, where Elnora collects moths and excells in school. The mother is still pining the loss of her husband in the limberlost, and she resents Elnora, but truth be learned, her hu...more

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Nov 09, 2008 Nina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

There is a line in this book that I carry on a card in my purse. "If you are Lazy and accept your lot, you may live in it. If you are willing to work you can write your name anywhere" Gene Stratton-Porter is a giften writer that writes of her beloved Limberlost swamp and the people that around it. As with her other books, there are characters that have extreme hardship and rise above them to become better individuals. Elnora Comstock is an impoverished young girl that feels unloved, and earns mu...more

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Aug 10, 2008 Gloria rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Teenage females, Adult females who like clean fiction

Recommended to Gloria by: Mom

Shelves: young-adult

This nostalgic story was written in 1906, but has rather surprising relevance to today's culture. Well crafted and unique, the issues covered include: bullying, parental neglect, extramarital affair, unhealthy grief, peer pressure, alcoholism, window peeping, depression, and class culture clashes. Elnora is a teenage girl with many factors making life difficult. In true American spirit, she rises above the odds and educates herself and teaches others how to treat her. She achieves not only an ed...more

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May 29, 2008 Charlotte rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-authors, books-i-love

What a joy it is to read Gene Stratton-Porter! I picked this book up at my daughter's orchestra concert - which I arrived at 45 min. early - and finding myself bookless, I asked her if she had anything in her locker I could read. She produced this book, which I hadn't read in quite a while; I got totally lost in it well before the concert started, and I couldn't put it down! I love the moral fiber of the characters, and how adversity shaped Elnora into the beautiful woman she became. Now I'm rea...more

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Nov 02, 2008 April rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: girls between 11-100, great living book

This was a sweet book. I disagree with the other comments and do not think it was anything like Anne of Green Gables. It was a really good story about love, loss, letting go, and learning to love agian. I loved the amount of resilence the main character had-she over came so much in this coming of age tale. I enjoyed the nature talk throughout the book. I hope there are still parts of the Limberlost preserved today. You could do a really nice literature unit on this book and incorporate all the s...more

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Jun 09, 2008 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well worth reading for an honest look at what life was like for a naturalist in the late 19th and early 20th century. While it is fiction, I would highly recommend reading this for what it tells you about all the things that are peripheral to the story. Also, do a little background reading on Gene Stratten-Porter. She's an amazing individual, and what she accomplished in her life is beyond belief (when you consider that, by law, her husband had to sign any legal documents in her name for them to...more

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Jan 22, 2008 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Thank you, Carrie for recommending this book to me last winter. I haven't stopped thinking about it since. I hope my girls will have half of the curiosity for natural science as the heroine of this book.

I must admit that I felt pangs of loss and mourning at the descriptions of the Limberlost forest and its wonders--knowing that so much of the nature around us has turned to parking lots. Good thing I'll be able to read this story with my girls someday in case they never experience such a world f...more

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Mar 27, 2009 Coco rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 13, 2013 Mindy McAdams rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: by-women

I've had this book on my shelf for many years. I know I bought it because I'd read a review that praised it to high heaven, and I knew it was a very old children's book (or today we might say "young adult novel"), but I'd long since forgotten what attracted me to it. Lately I've been reading somewhat obscure great novels by female authors, so it seemed a good time to finally pick this up, blow the dust off, and give it a try.

Enjoyed it completely. Often I thought of my grandmother (born in 1896)...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Barb Terpstra rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This quaint, old fashioned book caputured my interest for most of this Saturday morning. The writing style reminded me of "Anne of Green Gables", "The Two Altheas" or "How Green Was My Valley". There is something to be said for books like these that capture what are now considered old-fashioned values and contrasting them with the transient enjoyments of society.

Elnora has no father and her mother treats her resentfully due to the circumstances that surround her father's death. Much of the book...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Rachel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

I'm in the "classical" minority here, but this feels to me one of the median Gene Stratton-Porter books--partly evoking naturalistic, idealic awe--partly inducing writhing and wriggling in high dramatic discomfort. True to form, we are introduced to what is supposed to be an idealic perfection in character, but this time... it isn't really, rivaled by what is supposed to be utter moral infirmity, and is...until it's suddenly not, which makes it all a bit confusing and often grating. It conjures...more

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Feb 19, 2013 03EllieL rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Girl of the Limberlost
By Gene Stratton-Porter
year: 1909
Pages: 384
Audience: The Reader
Conflicts: -Elenora is in love with Phillip Ammon, but he is engaged to a girl named Edith Carr.
- Elenoras mom Kathrine is mad at Elenora for accusing her that it was her fault that her husband died. Theres a bad relationship with Elenora and her mom throughout the book.
Setting- It is in Indiana, the time and place are so important in this book because most of the problems in this book go along the 1800s pro...more The Girl of the Limberlost
By Gene Stratton-Porter
year: 1909
Pages: 384
Audience: The Reader
Conflicts: -Elenora is in love with Phillip Ammon, but he is engaged to a girl named Edith Carr.
- Elenoras mom Kathrine is mad at Elenora for accusing her that it was her fault that her husband died. Theres a bad relationship with Elenora and her mom throughout the book.
Setting- It is in Indiana, the time and place are so important in this book because most of the problems in this book go along the 1800s problems like no jobs and not a lot of money, the book coundnt be at a different place and time.
Main Characters- Elenora: She is a very responsible, strong girl that funds for her needs and education by collecting moths. She is the Protagonist.
-Phillip Ammon: He loves Elenora, he wants to be with her but he is already engaged to her best friend Edith.
- Kathrine: She is Elenoras mom, she is mad at Elenora throughtout the whole book because she thinks Elenora was the reason why her husband died. She is very strict. Shes the Antagonist of the story.
Summery: Elenora lives in Indiana right by a Limberlost, which is a swamp. She goes to the Limberlost to think about how shes going to face all of he problems, also to have some time to herself. She is always trying to get away from her mom Kathrine. Kathrine is mad at Elenora because when she was born, her husband died. So every since then Kathrine has been mad at Elenora, and refuses to pay for the things that Elenora may want or need. Elenora goes out to find a job so that she can pay for high school. She gets a job from the "Bird Women", which is collecting moths and selling them. Elenora soon falls in love with a handsome man named Phillip Ammon. She knows that she cannot marry him because he is engaged to Edith Carr. Elenora then focuses into her education and gradutaes from high school, but doesnt know what to do with Phillip.
Didnt like- It wasnt fun and it was way slow. I didnt really understand the story.
Quotes
1: "Are you happy now? Phillip asked. "Unspeakably happy!" Answered Elenora. I just thought that it was so great that she finally said that she was happy, cause throughout the book she always says that she isnt! Now she finally is!
2: "I'll come back for you Elenora". Phillip said. I thought that he had such determination to come back for her even though hes engaged to Edith. I thought it was way romantic!
Theme: If you work hard you will achieve your goals.
Reccommend- girls that like calm books. This books wantnt really fun, it had no adventure! So this would be a very relazing book for any girl. Boys wouldnt get it.
Unique: It was in the 1800s! Usually books are made for the Present and Future. This book really captured about what life was like in the 1800s.
rating: three stars
Post: 2/19/13
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Jan 15, 2013 Kirk rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: currently-teaching

First and foremost, you ask, what is a Limberlost? My wife will tell you it's a fairly accurate description of my posture at my decrepit age, but however true that may be, it's irrelevant to Gene Stratton-Porter's most famous novel. The Limberlost is actually a famous forest area in eastern Indiana where the author and her husband made their initial wealth. Today a portion of it operates as a state historical site, with tourists able to tour the cabin, which looks like this:

Of course, by the tim...more First and foremost, you ask, what is a Limberlost? My wife will tell you it's a fairly accurate description of my posture at my decrepit age, but however true that may be, it's irrelevant to Gene Stratton-Porter's most famous novel. The Limberlost is actually a famous forest area in eastern Indiana where the author and her husband made their initial wealth. Today a portion of it operates as a state historical site, with tourists able to tour the cabin, which looks like this:

Of course, by the time Porter died at 60, a millionaire off her writing, this house wasn't fit for a closet. Instead, she was building a massive Bel Air mansion while living in a "cottage" on Catalina Island, dictating her final words to a secretary because that's what a sweet life writing will get you. Until the streetcar plows into your chauffeured limo and kills you before you can move into your mansion, that is. Still, considering by that time you've written 5 of the only 55 novels ever to sell more than a million copies by 1924, you can probably say you've accomplished what you're going to in life.

We read this book for our opening week of a class on coming-of-age novels and youth-culture fiction. GIRL is a book that countless women remember fondly, mainly because of Elnora's struggle to overcome poverty and make her way in the world by collecting moths for a mysterious creature known as The Birdwoman (not of Alcatraz). "Poverty" is a misnomer here, because Elnora's mother has money, she's just a cheap, resentful hag who must outgrow her hagitude to love her daughter the way Elnora deserves. Indeed, it's fair to say it's Kate Comstock and other characters in the book who must grow up, for Elnora's unerring goodness makes adults and other teens around her painfully aware of their shortcomings. We spent most of our class talking about Mama's psychology instead of Elnora's, which was a bit weird because this is is a class about adolescents in fiction, not in wrinkly embittered mothers. The reality is Elnora's a bit of a cipher. She doesn't so much struggle with pride, greed, temptation, etc., as other Victorian and post-Victorian children must do; she's mainly here to romp in the woods, chase butterflies, and saw "Turkey in the Straw" on the fiddle so that those of us who didn't grow up in sylvan splendor can feel deprived. In other words, this is American Pastoral without any hint of the American Berserk.

The weird thing is that this may be a naturalist novel, but it's not a conservationist novel as descriptions of it might seem. The Limberlost is here to be turned into money: Elnora reaps $300 a pop for a Yellow Empress moth, and when Mama comes to her senses, she agrees to sell off part of her land and drill for oil so Elnora can have the pretty dresses a good middle-class girl is ordained to enjoy. I supposed I'd be out camphoring the little flutterbellies, too, for $300---I've sold plasma for less than that---but it's a definite departure from Victoria children's fiction to have Elnora revel in all the goodies her money buys her, including lavish toiletries which only a couple of decades earlier would ensure she was on the road to Limberhell.

For me, the novel went off the rails about 4/5 of the way through in the obligatory romance plot where Elnora squares off against Edith Carr for the affections of one of the all-time wet noodle suitors, Phil Ammons. Actually, Elnora doesn't compete for Phil; she lets Edith show herself for the vain, silly fool she is and tells Phil to poo or get off the pot when it comes to picking his wife. She has better things to do, like deforest the American wilderness. The novel really gives readers a stiff case of whiplash when we suddenly leave Indiana and head for Petoskey MI--a tourist trap if there ever was one in the early 20th century---where Elnora is advised by the hero of Porter's previous bestseller, Freckles. Why a teenage girl would take advice from an adult male who calls himself Freckles is a question not even Nabokov could answer, but Freckles's advice is, naturally, as profound as anything Joel Osteen, Oprah, or Humbert Humbert could ever come up with: follow your heart. It's probably no mystery what happens at the end of the book. Go Ask Alice this is not.

Again, this book is fondly remembered by a lot of folks who read it in childhood, and it's not hard to understand why. Like a lot of pre-1920s youth fiction it grants young women an imaginative space where they can be adventurers, scientists, mother figures, and economically independent entrepreneurs without the necessity of depending on men---at least until the writer's publisher reminds her that a girl's book must end in marriage. (Once Porter made her millions, she unburdened herself of her dull druggist hubsand. While she was building her Bel Air mansion, he was living in a boardinghouse. NOTE TO MEN: It pays not to be jerks to women).

To me the most interesting character was the most dislikable: Edith Carr. As Janet Malcolm noted a few years ago in an NYRB essay, Edith seems a neurotic harbinger of Fitzgerald's flappers. So she's a good transition into our next week's read, THIS SIDE OF PARADISE. In the end, to me GIRL is a nice break from modern teenage angst, but I can't help but feel it's also an adult's idealization of what an adolescent should be: obedient, intuitively moral, and absolutely immune to the baleful influence of corrupted adults (including the creepy perv tramp who peeps into her bedroom window, only to feel instantly terrible about being a creepy perv and become her protector among the roving gangs of tramps). To put it another way, Elnora is a kid who can raise herself. Call me when you get out of high school, girl---I'll be on Catalina Island, dictating my next novel while chauffeured in my limo. Just let me finish my draft before that streetcar comes barreling. (less)

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Oct 16, 2012 Admatha rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

To begin with, I went into this book not aware that it was a sequel. As such there was a certain amount of off-handed references to previous events that made no sense out of context. However, I don't believe it made any noticeable different in my impression of the story, except to decide that I was not interested in going back and reading it.

GotL is a book about a teenage girl growing up. As a little girl, I ached for stories with female lead characters, and possibly I might even have enjoyed it...more To begin with, I went into this book not aware that it was a sequel. As such there was a certain amount of off-handed references to previous events that made no sense out of context. However, I don't believe it made any noticeable different in my impression of the story, except to decide that I was not interested in going back and reading it.

GotL is a book about a teenage girl growing up. As a little girl, I ached for stories with female lead characters, and possibly I might even have enjoyed it. Having read better, however, I can only say that this was a real disappointment and a waste of two days' reading time.

Before we get into the meat of the story, and possible spoilers, let me just say right out - don't read this. Read Diary of Anne Frank. Read Anne of Green Gables. Little Women. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. To Kill A Mockingbird. All 'old-fashioned' stories (DoAF a true story, of course), all with much better, much more believable, much more sympathetic female lead characters. My biggest issue with this book is the lead character herself. She is *perfect*. I despise perfect people. They're boring, not to mention highly unlikeable people, not to mention highly unbelievable characters.

And thus begin the SPOILERS...

Elnora begins and ends the book as a perfect girl. There is no change. She is, rather, the character who changes everyone around her for the better. Which is fine, but she never makes a misstep and never exhibits a flaw for the reader to connect with. Everything she says or does is exactly the right thing to say or do in the situation to make things go the best way for her. Even the problems outside her control turn to awesome-sauce at her first touch:

* Her classmates laugh at her the first two days and then suddenly fall madly in love with her and can't get enough of her
* She is stalked by a creepy guy who magically manages to overcome his own creepiness and help her and her mother out (and on a side note, am I the only one who was like WTF I THOUGHT THIS WAS A KIDS BOOK at the bedroom stalking scene Which went nowhere, because it happened once and her uncle and mom got all upset for like... five minutes and then nobody thought about it ever again?). In fact none of the many dangers of the swamp inconsistently but severely hinted about ever appear, nor are there even any 'close calls'.
* Every time she's about to be out of money it magically shows up for her, and if there's not enough (or often even if there is), someone just happens along who can change that not just in a "well we'll scrape by" way but in an ELNORA WEARS THE MOST BEE-YOO-TEE-FULL CLOTHES OF EVERYONE AND EVERYONE LOVES HER way.
* Her mother - psychotic cow for half the book, perfect early Martha Stewart the next.
* Her beau - perfectly in love with a woman exactly the opposite of Elnora the first half of his story, and in one page (in which something happens that has happened a million times before, but this time apparently was The Last Time, conveniently) he manages to lose all that pesky affection and love so he can go panting back to perfect Elnora. AND to add insult to injury, even the ex-girlfriend, in the end, decides she wants to be Exactly Like Elnora and

Oh good lord I'm starting to feel nauseous again.

And what really tops it off is that it keeps insinuating that Elnora is so perfect because she was raised ignorant and abused. No seriously. they're all like "Oh Elnora, you're so perfect, you don't need *real* schooling, you've been raised in the School of Hard Knocks" (seriously, "school of hard knocks" is totally used, and totally capitalized, in the book. More than once.) I actually googled the book afterward and found some reviews by ... religiously minded women who seem to think this is awesome. One review actually praised it for showing that "a lot of hard knocks" can be seen as "a blessing" instead of all these books where the kids are "emo" about it. Yes, kids growing up in single-parent homes where they experience constant and serious neglect, not to mention verbal and physical abuse, should *totally* suck it up and learn to roll with the punches, amiright?

Gaaaah. I realize that I am, possibly, being a little heavy on the sarcasm, and I fully realize that this book was written in a simpler (and stupider?) time. But this was *so* bad. A girl who is literally incapable of doing wrong - who is *written* to do no wrong (and surely Elnora the character must have been screaming at her author to give her at least *one* freaking flaw, for pete's sake) - is no girl I'm going to let shove her morals in my face. Which she does, again and again. Even Jesus had a frickin' temper tantrum, okay? Anyway, as discussed above, there are plenty of stories out there that feature strong female leads, that offer 'old fashioned' morals, and that do it with a much more developed character than you can find in this story.
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Oct 02, 2012 Annette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, youth, worth-re-reading, historical-fiction, gutenberg

Free eBook from Project Gutenberg.
I found this book in the comments section of a list of top 100 books for youth, and quickly added it to my Nook queue. I'm quite glad to have found it, and certainly plan to add it to my list of kids books. Appropriate for early to late teens, I'd place it in roughly the same genera as "Little Women," with strong overtones of "Little House on the Prairie." Set (and written) in first decade of the 20th century, the story follows Elnora Comstock, who lives on a h...more Free eBook from Project Gutenberg.
I found this book in the comments section of a list of top 100 books for youth, and quickly added it to my Nook queue. I'm quite glad to have found it, and certainly plan to add it to my list of kids books. Appropriate for early to late teens, I'd place it in roughly the same genera as "Little Women," with strong overtones of "Little House on the Prairie." Set (and written) in first decade of the 20th century, the story follows Elnora Comstock, who lives on a homestead near the Limberlost swamp in Indiana, as she fights her way through High School. In order to earn money for this venture, she sells moths and other natural items she collects from the swamp - a surprisingly lucrative cottage industry, as it turns out. And although her schooling is the backbone of plot, very little time is spent in the classroom after the first few chapters: it is clear that Elnora's first love - and the author's - is the rich natural tapestry of the Limberlost. Much loving detail is spent on describing the moths Elnora collects, as well as their natural environment. Of course, we also see tremendous character development, not only in Elnora as she matures in the roughly 5 year cycle, but also in her mother, whom we meet as a desperately embittered widow with no love for her daughter, and leave as a still-sharp tongued and no-nonsense woman who nevertheless has both repented and come to deeply treasure Elnora. Side characters such as "Uncle" Wesley, Billy, and the inevitable love-interest Phillip and rival Edith are also well written and enjoyable, with genuine character development in several cases.
While no single scene takes place in church - indeed, religion as such is completely absent - the book is nevertheless deeply reverent as many of the characters learn much of God's character through nature. In one scene in particular, Elnorna's mother waxes eloquent on the foolishness of Darwinian notions as she worshipfully observes the emergence of a rare moth.
And, of course, everyone lives happily ever after. I am quite happy to have stumbled upon this book, and look forward to sharing it with my children when they reach their teens. (less)

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Sep 14, 2012 Sharri rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comfort-reading, fiction, juvenile

This is another one of those delightful "girl classics" from childhood, though I didn't read it until I was in my 20s.

The story, published in 1909 and sequel to "Freckles" (which I didn't like as much), has shares a flavor and components with Anne of Green Gables: smart girl growing up in 1800s rural North America who overcomes a difficult childhood and loves for natural world; author so in love with her character that she rights every wrong and continues to churn out stories about the characte...more This is another one of those delightful "girl classics" from childhood, though I didn't read it until I was in my 20s.

The story, published in 1909 and sequel to "Freckles" (which I didn't like as much), has shares a flavor and components with Anne of Green Gables: smart girl growing up in 1800s rural North America who overcomes a difficult childhood and loves for natural world; author so in love with her character that she rights every wrong and continues to churn out stories about the character long after she should have ended. But, instead of the gutsy heroine being transported to a safe home in the first chapters and then spending the rest of the novel getting in humorous scrapes as she grows up (a la Anne), Elnora must fight to overcome her impoverished and neglected childhood by grasping at education and opportunity. She is constantly antagonized by her mother, a widow who resents her daughter and derides everything her daughter desires (education, a place in society, a mother's love). The story is not light-hearted but often devastating in its portrayal of this broken mother-daughter relationship. And Elnora is shown as human rather than a perfect protagonist: she gets frustrated and angry with her mother and her situation.

But that's just the first half of the book, which has a satisfying "girl classic" ending: Elnora overcoming adversity through her industrious and indomitable spirit.

The second part of the book, after all the problems are solved, is sadly a bit vapid. Suddenly the mom is no longer flawed but warm and loving, even interesting in educating herself and providing a good home for her daughter. But, rather than inserting "and they lived happily ever after", the author now turns her attention to marrying Elnora off to a man who appreciates her refined-by-fire perfections. Cue the honorable young man engaged to a selfish, flirty, rich girl. Cue him falling for Elnora (and her for him) but neither confessing their love until [SPOILER ALERT] said selfish rich girl reveals her true character and then realizes the error of her ways (by proximity to our virtuous heroine) and releases her fiance from his obligation.

Elnora -- like Polly in Louisa May Alcott's "An Old-Fashioned Girl" and Agnes in Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield" -- emulates the 1800s concepts of feminine virtue. These traits -- patience, sensibleness, gentleness, intelligence, resourcefulness, and industriousness (and add independence for American girls) -- eventually win over the enticing thrills of beautiful, empty-headed, rich party girls (take that, Paris Hiltons of the 1800s!). [Hmm, I recognize the message as dated, but don't we still want these qualities in our daughters? Don't we want them to be have all these marks of character and not compromise them to "win" a man? Then why are they considered dated? I suspect that we as a society are jaded, though perhaps our daughters are not and should not be. Or perhaps we connect these values to the narrow opportunities of women 100 years ago, tying these desirable character traits to undesirable limitations and stereotypes.]

The first half of this novel (ie, the better half) takes place in and around the immense Limberlost Swamp of Indiana, now (ironically) drained and farmed. The author was a naturalist who loved this wild area; her love clearly shows in this book (though she's doesn't yet have a problem with deforestation, drilling for oil, killing rare moths for collectors). In Elnora's early life, the swamp is her source of strength and comfort and even income and educational advantage. And one can't help loving Elnora or the swamp.(less)

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Aug 09, 2012 Carissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I thought I was going to enjoy this one far more than I did... As it was, Elnora was too syrupy sweet and perfect for me to like her or relate to her much. Her mother's transformation was too quick, sudden, and didn't quite make sense to my mind. (Loving someone and grieving for them makes you mean and realizing that they didn't love you in return makes you sweet? Huh???) Furthermore, the plot felt rather repetitive for the first half. (view spoiler)...more

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Jul 26, 2012 Ann has a dirty mouth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So, this is a nostalgia read for me since my mom used to read this one out loud to me when I was a little girl. To replicate the experience, I turned to the good ol' librivox.org for the free audiobook experience.

http://librivox.org/a-girl-of-the-lim...

Unlike many of their books, this one is very easy to listen to and competently read. The book is what we would classify as a "young adult" book today, although back then this was popular amongst readers of all ages. It was fun for me to remember t...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Andree rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: july, 2012, e-book, kindle

A friend, while discussing National Moth Week with me, remembered and recommended this book. The information about moths in the book is a wonderful metaphor for the main character, Elnora, and the novel gives a clear description of the practices of naturalists in the early 20th century, but it is not why you should read this book.

This is a combination of "Little Women" and "Anne of Green Gables": a nostalgic look at life in the last century, with its clear social rules, that triggers a longing...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Teresa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really wanted to like A Girl of the Limberlost, Gene Stratton Porter's tale of a young girl, Elnora Comstock, who grows up near a swamp and with a mother who can't forgive her for making the mother go into labor while her husband was drowning. It seemed to be in the nature of an LM Montgomery book, which I do think it was. Porter focuses on the nature of the area and Elnora's love and appreciation for everything surrounding her. You first meet Elnora as she's about to enter high school and a c...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Flourish rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not at all sure how to give this a starred rating, so instead I'll tick off some of the pluses and minuses I can think of about the book:

+ When I was ten, I would have loved this book. It's the kind of Cinderella story that is also about a girl winning her way through by grit and can-do spirit—the kind of thing I adored then.
- There's a lot of weirdness about attitudes towards nature. We love nature, but we ought to dig oil wells? And we see how there are fewer and fewer moths around when we...more

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Feb 01, 2012 Bridgette Redman rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Girl of the Limberlost is not a book to be read when one is feeling cynical, critical, or simply jaded. For starters, it is a children’s book and children aren’t supposed to be jaded or cynical yet. Secondly, it’s a book that emphasizes sweetness and light—not dreary realism or angry conflicts.

Girl of the Limberlost portrays a time long since lost. It relates the story of Elnora Comstock and her life in the swamp of the Limberlost. She is a plucky girl, but not of the type of pluck that we assoc...more Girl of the Limberlost is not a book to be read when one is feeling cynical, critical, or simply jaded. For starters, it is a children’s book and children aren’t supposed to be jaded or cynical yet. Secondly, it’s a book that emphasizes sweetness and light—not dreary realism or angry conflicts.

Girl of the Limberlost portrays a time long since lost. It relates the story of Elnora Comstock and her life in the swamp of the Limberlost. She is a plucky girl, but not of the type of pluck that we associate with Pippi Longstocking or Annie Warbucks. Elnora is not in the least bit a tomboy.

This book begins on Elnora’s first day of high school. We learn that although she is intelligent, graceful, kind, and generous, she hasn’t been told the things she needs to know to succeed in school—such as what girls wear, where to get books, or that there is a tuition charge for those who live in the country. She leaves her first day humiliated by girls who lack her graciousness and courtesy.

However, Elnora isn’t discouraged. Her mother thinks school is a waste of time and says she cannot afford to help her. So Elnora turns to the resources of the swamp. She becomes a naturalist, selling butterflies and other specimens to earn money for all her needs.

This is a book that is far too easy to criticize. I found myself growing impatient with the portrayal of Mrs. Comstock. She is cold toward her child except for moments of regret when she sees her child overcoming her disinterest. While Mrs. Comstock changes throughout the course of the book, most of her changes are much too sudden to be very believable.

Also, there is mention made of many characters who are never fleshed out, but the reader feels like he or she should know these characters. It turns out there is a previous book by the same author wherein these characters are introduced. Although I haven’t read it yet, I would suggest that reading that first book, Freckles might make Girl of the Limberlost more enjoyable.

Elnora is also just a little too perfect to be believable. Everyone around her (with the exception of her mother for the first half of the book) worships her. She never does anything wrong and excels at everything she attempts.

Having said all this, I’ll admit that many of my would-be criticisms of this book can be easily turned around. As a mother, there is something appealing in a book where the heroine strives and achieves perfection. Elnora extends courtesy to her mother far beyond what the mother deserves. She models such virtues as self-sufficiency, self-esteem, patient goodness, generosity, and kindness. She is intelligent and willing to work long, hard hours to achieve her goals.

Girl of the Limberlost is also a snapshot of the ideals of a century past. It is set in Indiana at the beginning of the twentieth century. The author, Gene Stratton Porter, was herself a naturalist and she infuses the pages of this novel with her own knowledge of butterflies, caterpillars, moths, and the swamp’s ecosystem. While in the year 2000, I look at Elnora as being overly concerned with dresses and appearances, I’ll acknowledge that for a book written at the turn of the century, she is extremely independent and a very strong female character.

There is also a sweetness in this book. The heroine doesn’t struggle against evil by fighting or defeating it. Instead, she shows how a determined example and consistent behavior can overcome “evil” by altering it and bringing even the worst enemies into the warmer fold of goodness and charity. It is a book that demonstrates that it isn’t necessary to fight fire with fire or to compromise our ideals in defense of those ideals. Instead, Elnora is a memorable character because she is a good person who sticks to her morals no matter what other people do or say.

It is a book I will re-read someday when I feel less cynical and when I can read it to my children, children who will not yet be jaded or skeptical when confronted with goodness.(less)

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About Gene Stratton-Porter

She was an American author, amateur naturalist, wildlife photographer, and one of the earliest women to form a movie studio and production company. She wrote some of the best selling novels and well-received columns in magazines of the day.

Born Geneva Grace Stratton in Wabash County, Indiana, she married Charles D. Porter in 1886, and they had one daughter, Jeannette.

She became a wildlife photogra...more

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Quotes from A Girl of the Limberlost

“If you are lazy, and accept your lot, you may live in it. If you are willing to work, you can write your name anywhere you choose.” — 1,177 people liked it

“I know men and women. An honourable man is an honourable man, and a liar is a liar; both are born and not made. One cannot change to the other any more than that same old leopard can change its spots.
After a man tells a woman the first untruth of that sort, the others come piling thick, fast, and mountain high.” — 25 people liked it

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