A Girl of the Limberlost

This beautifully-written novel was first published in 1909, and was a sequel to Stratton-Porter's novel 'Freckles'.

It is the story of Elnora Comstock, who lived in poverty with her widowed mother, Katharine Comstock. They live in Indiana, on the edge of the Limberlost Swamp. Her mother despise Elnora, and blames her for the death of her husband. Robert Comstock had drowned in quicksand in the swamp, while she was giving birth to Elnora, and prevented her from saving him.

They have little income only making money by selling eggs, and other things from their farm. Katharine refuses to cut down any trees, or search for oil like her neighbours have been doing, though they could use the money.

Elnora struggles at school, with fitting in with her peers. Her mother wants to keep her at home, as she believes educating Elnora is useless. She struggles to pay for tuition and books. And so Elnora starts to sell moths and artifacts from the Limberlost to make money keeping it a secret from her mother. She struggles with her relationship with her mother, as they rarely see eye to eye. It is a coming of age story, as she tries to maintain a balance between her love of nature, the desecration of the local swamp for commercial purposes, and her relationships with friends, neighbours, and her cold mother.

Dettagli