A Girl of the Limberlost
Elnora Comstock grows up at the edge of Indiana’s Limberlost swamp, bright and eager for school but held back by poverty and a mother worn hard by grief. To pay her own way, she collects moths, butterflies, and other specimens from the wetland and sells them, turning the wild place everyone else fears into her livelihood and refuge. Gene Stratton-Porter weaves careful natural history through a story of self-reliance, first love, and the slow thaw between a daughter and the mother who cannot show she cares. Rooted in a landscape the author knew and fought to protect, it became one of the most beloved American novels of its day. A free PDF and EPUB edition is available here.
About the Author
Gene Stratton-Porter (1863-1924) was an American author, naturalist, and nature photographer. Devoted to Indiana’s Limberlost wetland, she wove her careful field study of birds and moths into best-selling novels and nature books, and later became one of the era’s first women to run her own…
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