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mnicolec 's review for:
A Girl of the Limberlost
by Gene Stratton-Porter
~Audiobook~
I would have done myself a big disservice if I hadn’t read Gene Stratton-Porter’s bio online. Fascinating. So many pieces of her own life and experiences are evident in this book. Born Geneva, she herself had the nickname “Little Bird Woman.” She grew up near the Limberlost Swamp in Indiana in the late 1800s and was a nature conservationist. Quite radical for a woman of her time! She hyphenated her name and was dedicated to her work, feeling obliged to fulfill her family duties first and foremost.
This book was published in 1909! So rest assured, the language, mindset and descriptions of fashion, food and wildlife are authentic. Stratton-Porter herself is industrious and dynamic - and in many ways sounds like she may have created the protagonist, Elnora Comstock, in her own image. Elnora is an outlier but widely admired. Aspects of the story almost sound like a more modern woman is telling history as she’d prefer it - which can feel confusing when there’s entry after entry about women’s looks and refined manners being a measure of their worth. (Bleck!) So, understanding that this book is over 100-years-old helps balance things!
This story is delightfully sweet and wholesome; quite suitable for younger readers. It’s gratifying to read about someone repeatedly overcoming adversity and coming out ahead. I didn’t love the way the story was written, but now that I understand that Stratton-Porter’s books were a way of sharing an appreciation for nature with the masses, I have a great appreciation for the brilliance of it.
It makes it even more heartbreaking to realize how much the landscape of Indiana has changed in spite of her efforts - and along with it the displacement and extinction of so many amazing creatures. The author captures the very real challenges that landowners’ faced; developing their land became survival. But how sad that we’ve ruined so much in so little time.
Book reco: Karen
I would have done myself a big disservice if I hadn’t read Gene Stratton-Porter’s bio online. Fascinating. So many pieces of her own life and experiences are evident in this book. Born Geneva, she herself had the nickname “Little Bird Woman.” She grew up near the Limberlost Swamp in Indiana in the late 1800s and was a nature conservationist. Quite radical for a woman of her time! She hyphenated her name and was dedicated to her work, feeling obliged to fulfill her family duties first and foremost.
This book was published in 1909! So rest assured, the language, mindset and descriptions of fashion, food and wildlife are authentic. Stratton-Porter herself is industrious and dynamic - and in many ways sounds like she may have created the protagonist, Elnora Comstock, in her own image. Elnora is an outlier but widely admired. Aspects of the story almost sound like a more modern woman is telling history as she’d prefer it - which can feel confusing when there’s entry after entry about women’s looks and refined manners being a measure of their worth. (Bleck!) So, understanding that this book is over 100-years-old helps balance things!
This story is delightfully sweet and wholesome; quite suitable for younger readers. It’s gratifying to read about someone repeatedly overcoming adversity and coming out ahead. I didn’t love the way the story was written, but now that I understand that Stratton-Porter’s books were a way of sharing an appreciation for nature with the masses, I have a great appreciation for the brilliance of it.
It makes it even more heartbreaking to realize how much the landscape of Indiana has changed in spite of her efforts - and along with it the displacement and extinction of so many amazing creatures. The author captures the very real challenges that landowners’ faced; developing their land became survival. But how sad that we’ve ruined so much in so little time.
Book reco: Karen