A Girl of the Limberlost - Softcover

Gene Stratton Porter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1934169315 ISBN 13: 9781934169315

Publisher: Norilana Books, 2006

Synopsis

A Girl of the Limberlost (1909) by Gene Stratton Porter is the story of a poor Indiana girl Elnora Comstock who lives with her emotionally abusive mother, a stern heartless widow, at the edge of the Limberlost Swamp.

Elnora attends school against her mother's wishes, fighting every inch of the way for her dream of an education, and collects and sells moths and other rare biological specimens from the swamp to pay for her schooling, books, and bare necessities. At first a laughingstock of her fellow students, Elnora persists against unfair odds, and asserts her true self.

A wonderful turn-of-the-century novel of discovery of identity, wonders of nature, friendship, family trust, love, and the process of growing up in the magical shadow of the Limberlost.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

A Girl of the Limberlost is unquestionably the most cherished books. It is the timeless story of an impoverished young girl, Elnora Comstock, growing up on the edge of the Limberlost swamp, and in order to pay for her education, she collects moths.

About the Author:

Because Gene Stratton-Porter cares for the truth that is in her, she is the most widely read and most widely loved author in America today, with the probable exception of Harold Bell Wright. She is absolutely sincere in all her work, she is in dead earnest, she does not care primarily for money, but for certain ideas and ideals. Let no one underestimate the tremendous power that is hers because of these things, let no one underestimate her hold upon millions of readers; let none undervalue the influence she has exerted and continues to exert, an influence always for good, for clean living, for manly men, for womanly women, for love of nature, for sane and reasonable human hopes and aspirations, for honest affection, for wholesome laughter, for a healthy emotionalism as the basis and justification of humble and invaluable lives. If Mrs. Porter has egoism it is the sort of egoism that the world needs. It is nothing more or less than a firm and sustaining belief in one's self, in the worth of one's work, and is bred of a passionate conviction that you must always give the best of yourself without stint. Is it egoistical to believe that? Is it self-centeredness to be proud of that? Is it wrong, having set the world the best example of which you are capable, to call it to the world's attention? You will not get the present reporter to say so! You will get from him nothing but an expression of his own conviction that while literature, aesthetically viewed, may not have been enriched by Mrs. Porter's writings, thousands, yes, tens of thousands of men and women have been made happier and better by her stories. And that just about sweeps any other possible accomplishment into limbo! The secret of Mrs. Porter's success is sincerity, complete sincerity; doing one's best work and doing it to the top of one's bent. It is not a question of art. There is no art about it. The finest literary artist in the world could not duplicate her performance unless he were a duplicate of her. It's not a literary matter at all; the thing has its roots in the personality, in the mind and heart and nervous organization of the writer. If you could be a Gene Stratton-Porter you could write the novels she writes and achieve just the success she achieves, a success which is improperly measured by earnings up to $750,000 from her books, a success of which the true measure can never be taken because it is a success in human lives and not in dollars.

About this edition

• Publisher: Norilana Books
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1934169315
• ISBN 13: 9781934169315
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336