A GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST BOOK CLUB - WEEK 1 - AUTHOR'S INFO
A GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST by Gene Stratton-Porter
I cannot express to you how excited I am to be reading this book alongside you all! Currently, I am reading it with 10 high school students, and while I remembered loving the book when I was in high school, I find that I am loving it all over again but this time for some new reasons! I am reading it with a different perspective. Now I read it as a mother of 4 girls (and 1 boy). Without divulging too much before we've actually started the book, I see the relationship between the mother and daughter in this book through completely new eyes but enough about that for now. Let's talk about our author!
Gene Stratton-Porter was born August 17, 1863, in Wabash County, Indiana. She was the last of 12 children, four of which died before she was 9-years-old. Initially, she received almost no formal education. Instead, her father and older brother taught her to notice nature around her, and she did. She earned the nickname "Little Bird Woman" when she nursed a red-tailed hawk back to health that her father had shot. In return, her father gave her ownership of every bird that lived on his land. In 1874, she attended formal school where she developed a love for reading. She also began music lessons on the banjo, violin, and piano.
On August 21, 1886, Gene (22-years-old) married Charles Darwin Porter (36-years-old). Charles was a very wealthy businessman. They had one daughter, Jeannette.
Despite her husband's wealth, Gene believed in independence and pursued her own interests especially in the areas of nature. She became wealthy through her writing-publishing 12 novels, 7 nonfiction books, 2 books on poetry, and several children's stories.
Together the Porters owned multiple homes, one of which was a two-story, 14-room cabin they named the Limberlost Cabin located close to the 13,000 acre Limberlost Swamp. Stratton-Porter loved the area and spent significant time there exploring and researching and eventually writing two of her books set around the Limberlost Swamp-Freckles and A Girl of the Limberlost. Between 1888 and 1910, the Limberlost was drained in an attempt to create more farmland. It destroyed the area, and the Porters sold their cabin. In 1997, an effort was mounted to reclaim the Limberlost Swamp area. Since 2015, approximately 1,500 acres have been reclaimed.
Eventually Gene Stratton-Porter set her sights on building a home in Los Angeles, California. On December 6, 1924,, she was being driven by her chauffeur. when their vehicle was hit by a streetcar, and she succumbed to her injuries.