Queen of the Limberlost: The Gene Stratton-Porter Story (As Told by her Animals)

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Freckles , please sign up. Does anyone know if the Junior Deluxe edition is unabridged or abridged? Matt Hi Jill - I doubled checked the first chapter of the Junior Deluxe edition against a downloaded copy, and they appear to be exactly the same with no …more Hi Jill - I doubled checked the first chapter of the Junior Deluxe edition against a downloaded copy, and they appear to be exactly the same with no edits.

Is there a sequel? See 2 questions about Freckles…. Lists with This Book. Jan 31, Victoria Lynn rated it it was amazing Shelves: My favorite book in the whole wide world. View all 11 comments. Jan 04, Teresa Carrigan rated it liked it. This book was written several generations ago. When I first read it more than 40 years ago? Rereading it now, I found myself noticing the cultural differences between now and when it was written. Most noticeable were these: Upper class people were just plain not supposed to even think about marrying those from the lower class, particularly if it This book was written several generations ago.

Upper class people were just plain not supposed to even think about marrying those from the lower class, particularly if it was likely that they were bastards or not of good breeding. Good manners and ethics are apparently something that can be inherited, even if you were abandoned as an infant and raised in an orphanage. Good breeding will obviously overcome any "home environment".

Clearing a swamp that is home to all kinds of rare animals, birds, insects, trees, etc, is progress, and that is a good thing. Yes, take photos of them first, and collect specimens, but do go ahead and clear the swamp. Shooting an otter so that its pelt could be made into a muff for a gift was a good idea. Nobody even considered whether the recipient might not have preferred to allow the otter to live. So this time instead of paying particular attention to all the tidbits about birds, trees, flowers, etc - I found myself reading it more like an historian or sociologist, and marveling at just how much American culture has changed in the last hundred years.

Jul 24, Toni Miranda rated it liked it. This one was okay. I would have given it one more star, but I didn't like the ending. Freckles was an orphan who didn't know his parents and who had a terrible childhood, but he turned into an honest, honorable young man.

I didn't like that in the end it was inferred that he could only be such a fine young man if his parents had been rich or of noble birth. And then of course it turns out that he is the son of a Spoiler alert! And then of course it turns out that he is the son of a Lord. One doesn't have to be rich to be good - in fact I think being rich actually makes it harder to be virtuous and honorable.

It wasn't Freckles parentage that made him the man he was, it was his decisions and choices. He chose not to lie and steal. He chose to be a man of his word. He chose to love others. It had nothing to do with being a "lord". Feb 23, Jessaka rated it liked it.

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I began reading Gene Stratton-Porter's book when I was a teenager, and I realize now that as an adult, they are rather boring, at least to me. I began reading Gene Stratton-Porter's book when I was a teenager, and I realize now, as an adult, they are rather boring to me, or at least this one was. As a naturalist, Gene Statton-Porter evidently sees nothing wrong I began reading Gene Stratton-Porter's book when I was a teenager, and I realize now that as an adult, they are rather boring, at least to me.

As a naturalist, Gene Statton-Porter evidently sees nothing wrong with this picture. All trees should be saved. The interesting thing about the Limberlost is the real story: The Limberlost aka Loblolly Swamp covered 13, acres in Indiana at one time. Now, it is being revitalized. The name Limberlost came from a true story about a man named James Miller who was tall and limber. He went out into the swamp one day and never returned, so since his nickname was Limber Jim, the swamp became named Limberlost. But the another story says that it was named after Jim Corbus, who went hunting and disappeared in the swamp.

I am going with the first one. Sep 08, Mela rated it liked it Shelves: It was a charming tale. A sweet love story, a harmony of the nature, good and brave people, honorable and devoted feelings. In other words an old fashioned story. One can't expect reality.

If one does expect one will be disappointed. Because although there aren't dragons or magic fairies, such stories are too sweet to be true. I think that if I had read it in a better matched mood I would have enjoyed it a little more. But still, I can appreciate a classic tale for young people. And I am going to It was a charming tale. And I am going to read A Girl of the Limberlost a sequel in the future. I have one objection: I understand that thanks to this he could showed how much he wasn't greedy but still.

Such high level of happy ending was too much for me. Freckles is and Irish orphan who has spent nearly all twenty of his years in a foundling home, stories abound of how, when he was only a few months old he was brutally beaten and left more dead than alive on the orphanage steps. Freckles wishes he knew for sure that it wasn't his mother who left him, that she loved him just as much as normal mothers do, after all, isn't that what every orphan dreams of? Even once he has moved on to work as the Limberlost guard, he can't banish the worry that he was always unwanted.

But for some reason that isn't enough for Freckles, he needs to know the truth about himself, and it's left to Angel to find it, if not for him, for herself… I can't believe I liked this so much more that A Girl Of The Limberlost, but I did.

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Freckles is a lovable, imperfect hero, in more ways than one; He's scarred both inside and out and he does the unthinkable by falling in love with a girl far above his station in life, someone he'll never be worthy of. That's what he thinks anyway The descriptions are beautiful, I could see the Limberlost in colour because of them, I saw the fear, loneliness, and wonder of the swamp, what could be better? My only complaint is this: I feel that Freckles should have let go of the past sooner, and moved on.

His parentage didn't matter to his friends, why should he continue to be tormented by it? Some ideas in this book are rather old-fashioned, or out of date. I have always detested the thought that you can tell just by seeing how someone behaves whether they have upperclass parentage, since those things are all "in the blood". That's rubbish when you are off the streets! Someone lower class can be just as good as someone upperclass, Imo. Other than that I really loved this book, and don't know why I didn't pick it up before. G rating for this sweet, heartfelt read.

View all 7 comments. A few of my friends had responded to the 10 book facebook challenge where you list 10 books that were meaningful to you in some way. Years earlier a co-worker had mentioned it and I had put it on my list and bought it on kindle. This book has kept haunting me so I felt it was time to finally read it.

I went to look it up again and on goodreads it said Limberlost 2. Surprised, I looked up the first one in the series an A few of my friends had responded to the 10 book facebook challenge where you list 10 books that were meaningful to you in some way. Surprised, I looked up the first one in the series and lo and behold I found, "Freckles.

Such a good read. Great characters, especially Freckles. It started a little slow for me. I think it was getting used to the language. It was written in the early 's. My husband is reading it now and loving it. I knew this book would be up his alley because he loves nature and animals and this book describes it so well.

It also is a good story of integrity and morals. The storyline was intriguing and kept me page turning. I thought it was interesting that the chapter headings were little spoilers and somehow it really worked and didn't ruin the story. It added to the suspense. Next up is, "A Girl of the Limberlost. Who could not love poor Freckles, abandoned as a baby with his right hand cut off, without a name or family?

When he looks for work and bravely holds out his right arm with the missing hand Well, cynics need not read this author's books, or those who are bored by description or dislike old-fashioned stories. But when you want to read an old-fashioned book that truly makes you feel good, try one of S-P's.

Jan 31, Els rated it it was amazing Shelves: Needed some sweet fluff to get me through my homework. Proceeded to re-read the book in one sitting, didn't get everything done I needed to, woke up this morning and got ready like it was Tuesday and had a full day of chaos ahead. So, yeah, thanks, Freckles, for altering my sense of time and reality. I found a hardcover of this imperfect favorite in an antique shop this weekend, stepped back in time, and reread. Jun 08, Ashley Williams rated it it was amazing Shelves: This was a delightful MG read!

I loved every minute of it. Apr 16, Monnie rated it really liked it. Author, nature photographer and conservationist Gene Stratton-Porter was a favorite author of my late mother, also an Indiana native, who grew up perhaps an hour from what is now the Limberlost State Historic Site in Geneva. Stratton-Porter and her husband, Charles Porter, built a rustic room log cabin home now far from the roughly 13,acre Limberlost Swamp in the early s - and it was here that she wrote and five of her seven nature books and six of her 12 novels, including this one, F Author, nature photographer and conservationist Gene Stratton-Porter was a favorite author of my late mother, also an Indiana native, who grew up perhaps an hour from what is now the Limberlost State Historic Site in Geneva.

Stratton-Porter and her husband, Charles Porter, built a rustic room log cabin home now far from the roughly 13,acre Limberlost Swamp in the early s - and it was here that she wrote and five of her seven nature books and six of her 12 novels, including this one, Freckles and the one with which I'm more familiar, the follow-up A Girl of the Limberlost.

Gene Stratton-Porter

I well remember my mother talking about that book, and the author - I'm pretty sure she even read it to me at one time. Written in - well before my time and my mother's - I expected it to be a bit stilted in language and with, because of Stratton-Porter's conservationist leanings, a bit of Rachel Carson thrown in. That it was, and more; it certainly is reflective of a time when the "upper-crust" ruled and anyone without a well-documented family pedigree virtually was a non-person.

That theme, almost above all else, came through loud and clear in this book, which follows the adventures of Freckles, a young man who was orphaned as an infant missing a hand that had been cut off. Now grown, he's earned the favor of a man who owns a lumber company and is charged with protecting the valuable trees in the Limberlost - a stretch of swamp now owned by the company. Soon, a beautiful young woman enters - dubbed the "Angel" because of her love and acceptance of every living thing regardless of "station" in life. The story then follows their adventures in trying to protect the trees, the swamp and all the creatures living within it as well as development of Angel's relationship with Freckles, who sees himself as in modern-day terms a total loser because he's missing both a hand and the aforesaid pedigree.

The dialogue is, in fact, a bit difficult, especially given the language of the day and Freckles' rather thick Irish brogue. Presumably, Stratton-Porter borrowed the latter from her Irish husband, but we have no idea where Freckles picked it up, since he was deposited in an orphanage in the Midwestern United States as a baby and had no interaction with anyone Irish until he was grown up a mystery that bothers me and not a few other reviewers. As I read along, I also kept waiting for something truly awful to happen a box of tissues was at my elbow throughout.

But this really isn't a tear-jerker; in fact, I was more inclined, given the times in which I live, to want to smack the characters upside the head than feel sorry about their belief that circumstances dictated their destinies. But that was then, and this is now - something readers must keep in mind throughout. If you view the book as a love story between two young people and an environment they both love, it's well written and poignant. January Each successive reading gets better. The ending is terrible, however.

Oct 16, Tricia Culp rated it liked it Shelves: This is a precious little book. I will probably pick up the next book the next time I want something slow, nurturing, heartwarming and easy. Jun 13, Hilarie rated it really liked it. This is truly a forgotten classic. I first read it many years ago, and recently had the desire to pick it up again.

I found that it was not as readily available as many other classics, which is certainly a shame as it is a wonderful book. The story concerns a young orphan, named Freckles, who has personally experienced many of the worst aspects of humanity in his short life. Sadly, these experiences have left Freckles with only one hand, no material possessions, little education, and most importa This is truly a forgotten classic. Sadly, these experiences have left Freckles with only one hand, no material possessions, little education, and most importantly, no concerned friends or loved ones.

As a result of the kindness of Mr. Mclean, part owner of the grand rapids lumber company, Freckles finds himself serving as the protector of timber in the Limberlost swamp. The timber itself is very valuable, and there are several unsavory characters who would love to have a chance to sell the timber for themselves. This employment proves to be life changing for Freckles, and ultimately leads to his discovery of the history of his past.

The book also features a charming love story that is both tender and engaging. This is a great read, but I did find it slightly less enjoyable than Porter's Girl of the Limberlost, which also takes place in Indiana. Porter describes Freckles as "plucky," and that really is the best word to describe him. This book has just enough action to keep the reader engaged, and is a quick and easy read. What really comes through on each page is Porter's love of nature and all it's wonders. I am sure I will be rereading this again in years to come. Jul 04, Ricky Orr rated it liked it.

My wife's 4th grade teacher awarded this book to my wife for her perfect attendance, with a note that the author lived around Fort Wayne. For whatever reason, the book sat on our shelf for all these years, unread. They initially lived in the home of Geneva's married sister, Anastasia, and her husband, Alvah Taylor, a lawyer. Thereafter, Geneva boarded with various relatives in Wabash until her marriage to Charles Porter in Geneva, who was also called Geneve during her youth, shortened her name to Gene during her courtship with Porter.

Gene received little formal schooling early in life; however, she developed a strong interest in nature, especially birds. As a young girl, Gene's father and her brother, Leander, taught her to appreciate nature as she roamed freely around the family farm, observing animals in their natural habitats and caring for various pets.

She also began music lessons in banjo, violin, and piano from her sister, Florence, and received private art lessons from a local instructor. Gene finished all but the final term of her senior year at Wabash High School. Because she was failing her classes, she made the decision on her own to quit, later claiming that she had left school to care for Anastasia, who was terminally ill with cancer and receiving treatment in Illinois. Porter, a Geneva, Indiana, druggist , was thirteen years older than Stratton, who was not yet twenty-one.

They became engaged in October and were married on August 21, Gene Stratton-Porter kept her family surname and added her husband's after her marriage. Charles Porter, who had numerous business interests, became a wealthy and successful businessman. Charles owned an interest in a drugstore in Fort Wayne, Indiana , which he sold soon after his marriage, and also owned drugstores in Decatur and Geneva. He also owned and operated farms, a hotel, and a restaurant. Porter and other investors organized the Bank of Geneva in He also became a Trenton Oil Company investor.

At one time he had more than sixty oil wells drilled on his land. Gene and Charles Porter's only child, a daughter, named Jeannette, was born on August 27, , when the Porters were living in Decatur, Indiana. The family moved to Geneva, in Adams County, Indiana , in Charles pursued various business interests and traveled extensively, while Gene stayed at home. She maintained her independence through the pursuit of her lifelong interests in nature and birdlife, and began by writing about these subjects to earn her own income.

In time, she became an independently wealthy novelist, nonfiction writer, and film producer. Stratton-Porter had four grandchildren, two granddaughters, and two grandsons. The Porters' daughter, Jeannette, married G. Blaine Monroe in and had two daughters: The Monroes divorced in , and then Jeannette and her two daughters moved to Los Angeles , California , to live with Stratton-Porter, who had moved there in The Meehans had two sons: Leah lived with Stratton-Porter for several years after Leah's father's death. In Stratton-Porter persuaded her husband, Charles, to move their family from Decatur to Geneva in Adams County, Indiana , where he would be closer to his businesses.

He initially purchased a small home within walking distance of his drugstore; [17] however, when oil was discovered on his land, it provided the financial resources need to build a larger home. Both of these properties are preserved as state historic sites. Stratton-Porter moved to southern California in and made it her year-round residence. She purchased homes in Hollywood and built a vacation home that she named Singing Water on her property on Catalina Island.

Floraves, her lavish mountaintop estate in Bel Air , was nearly completed at the time of her death in , but she never lived in it. Construction on a two-story, room, cedar-log Queen Anne-style rustic home in Geneva began in and was completed in The Porters named their new home the Limberlost Cabin in reference to its location near the 13,acre 5,hectare Limberlost Swamp , where Stratton-Porter liked to explore found the inspiration for her writing.

Stratton-Porter lived in the cabin until While residing in Geneva, Stratton-Porter spent much time exploring, observing nature, sketching, and making photographs at the Limberlost Swamp. She also began writing nature stories and books. The nearby swamp was the setting for two of her most popular novels, A Girl of the Limberlost and Laddie In addition, the swamp was the locale for many of her works of natural history. Between and , the area's wetlands around Stratton-Porter's home were drained to reclaim the land for agricultural development and the Limberlost Swamp, along with the flora and fauna that Stratton-Porter documented in her books, was destroyed.

The Porters sold the Limberlost Cabin in It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in After the Limberlost Swamp was drained and its natural resources developed for commercial purposes, Stratton-Porter sought alternate locations for inspiration. She initially purchased a small home on the north side of Sylvan Lake, near Rome City, in Noble County, Indiana , as a summer home while she looked for property to build a new residence.

In she purchased lakeside property using her own funds and designed and had a new home built there in Stratton-Porter named her new home the Cabin at Wildflower Woods , which she also called Limberlost Cabin because of its similarity to the Porters' home in Geneva. She moved into the large, two-story, cedar-log cabin in February ; her husband, Charles, who remained at their home in Geneva, commuted to the lakeside property on weekends.

Stratton-Porter assisted in developing the grounds of Wildflower Woods into her private wildlife sanctuary. Its natural setting provided her with the privacy she desired, at least initially; however, her fame attracted too many unwanted visitors and trespassers. The property's increasing lack of privacy was one of the reasons that caused her move to California in Stratton-Porter offered to sell her property to the State of Indiana in to establish a state nature preserve, but representatives of the state government did not respond.

She retained ownership of Wildflower Woods for the remainder of her life. Designated as the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site, the present-day acre hectare property, including 20 acres 8. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in She arrived in southern California in the fall of , intending to spend the winter months there, but enjoyed it so much that she decided to make it her year-round home.

Stratton-Porter enjoyed an active social life in the Los Angeles area, made new friends, began to publish her poetry, and continued to write novels and magazine articles. In she also established her own film production company. Stratton-Porter initially purchased a small home between Second and Third Streets in Hollywood, not far from where her Stratton relatives lived.

Stratton-Porter's sister, Catherine, and two of Stratton-Porter's nieces were already living in southern California when she moved there. Her brother, Jerome, and his wife later retired nearby. In , when Stratton-Porter's recently divorced daughter, Jeannette, and Stratton-Porter's two granddaughters relocated to California to live with her, she purchased a larger home at the corner of Serrano and Fourth Street, while Charles remained at Geneva, still active in the town's bank.

After the Porters sold the Limberlost Cabin in , he stayed at a Geneva boardinghouse when he was not traveling. In early Stratton-Porter purchased two lots on Catalina Island to build a room vacation retreat. The grounds of the 5-acre 2. Stratton-Porter moved into the wildlife haven in June and named it Singing Water because of the sounds emitting from the elaborate fountain. By March Stratton-Porter had selected a site for an estate home in southern California in an undeveloped area west of present-day Beverly Hills that became Bel Air.

Stratton-Porter was the first to build a residence there. The property also included a 4-car garage with servants' quarters above it, a greenhouse, outdoor ponds, and a tennis court. Stratton-Porter named her estate Floraves for flora meaning flowers and aves meaning birds. She died on December 6, , a few weeks before the home was completed. Her daughter, Jeannette, was the sole heir of her mother's estate.

While her marriage to Charles Porter provided financial security and personal independence, Gene sought additional roles beyond those of wife and mother. She took up writing in as an outlet for self-expression and as a means to earn her own income. Stratton-Porter felt that as long as her work did not interfere with the needs of her family, she was free to pursue her own interests.

She began her literary career by observing and writing about birdlife of the upper Wabash River valley and the nature she had seen during visits to the Limberlost Swamp, less than a mile from her home in Geneva, Indiana. The Limberlost Swamp, the Limberlost Cabin at Geneva, and after , the Cabin at Wildflower Woods at Sylvan Lake in northeastern Indiana became the laboratories for her nature studies and the inspiration for her short stories, novels, essays, photography, and movies.

Stratton-Porter wrote twenty-six books that included twelve novels, eight nature studies, two books of poetry, and four collections of stories and children's books. Of the fifty-five books selling one million or more copies between and , five of them were novels written by Stratton-Porter. Many of her works delve into difficult subject matter such as themes of abuse, prostitution, and abandonment.

In the case of Her Father's Daughter , the anti-Asian sentiment that her writing reflected prevalent in the United States during that era. Her other writing also introduced the concept of land and wildlife conservation to her readers. Although Stratton-Porter preferred to focus on nature books, it was her romantic novels that gained her fame and wealth. These generated the income that allowed her to pursue her nature studies. Her novels have been translated into twenty-three languages, as well as Braille.

Stratton-Porter began her career in , when she sent nature photographs that she had made to Recreation magazine. Her first published article, "A New Experience in Millinery," appeared in the publication's February issue. The article described her concerns about harming birds in order to use their feathers as hat trims. At the magazine's request, Stratton-Porter also wrote a photography column called "Camera Notes.

Her first short story, "Laddie, the Princess, and the Pie," was published in Metropolitan magazine in September Stratton-Porter's writing also included poetry and children's stories, in addition to essays and editorials that were published in magazines with nationwide circulation such as McCall's and Good Housekeeping. Although it was published anonymously in , circumstantial evidence suggests that Stratton-Porter's first book was The Strike at Shane's.

However, Stratton-Porter never acknowledged that she had written it and its author was never revealed. Bobbs-Merrill published her first, full-length attributed novel, The Song of the Cardinal , about a red bird living along the Wabash River. The book explained how birds lived in the wild and also included her photographs. Although the novel was a modest commercial success and was warmly received by literary critics, Stratton-Porter's publisher believed that nature stories would not become as popular as romance novels.

For her second novel, Stratton-Porter decided to combine nature and romance. Freckles , which was published by Doubleday, Page and Company , became a bestseller. The book's popularity among readers helped to launch her career as a successful novelist, despite its lackluster reviews from critics. A Girl of the Limberlost , which was highly successful and her best-known work, brought her worldwide recognition. Its central character, Elnora Comstock, a lonely, poverty-stricken girl living on a farm in Adams County, goes to the Limberlost Swamp to escape from her troubles and earns money to pay for her education by collecting and selling moth specimens.

It reached number one on the best-seller list in Freckles , A Girl of the Limberlost , and The Harvester are set in the wooded wetlands and swamps of northeast Indiana. Stratton-Porter loved the area and its wildlife and had documented them extensively.

Freckles (Limberlost, #1) by Gene Stratton-Porter

Translations of her book into other languages also increased her international audience. In , when Stratton-Porter reached a long-term agreement with Doubleday, Page and Company to publish her books, she agreed to provide one manuscript each year, alternating between novels and nonfiction nature books. Stratton-Porter's next novel, Laddie: A True Blue Story , another of her best-selling novels, included elements that corresponded to her early life. It was written while she supervised construction of her home at Sylvan Lake in Noble County, Indiana, and she described it as her most autobiographical novel.

The narrative is told in the first person by the twelfth child of the "Stanton" family. The title character is modeled after Stratton-Porter's deceased older brother, Leander, whom Stratton-Porter nicknamed Laddie. As in Stratton-Porter's own family, Laddie is connected with the land and identifies with their father's vocation of farming.

Michael O'Halloran , her seventh novel, was inspired by a newsboy she had encountered at Philadelphia , while visiting her daughter, Jeannette, and her family. A Daughter of the Land , her next novel, did not sell as well as her earlier works. Undeterred, she continued to write until her death in Her Father's Daughter , one of Stratton-Porter's last novels, was set in southern California, outside Los Angeles, where she had moved around The novel is especially biased against immigrants of Asian descent.

Judith Reick Long, one of Stratton-Porter's biographers, stated that World War I -era racial prejudice and nativism were prevalent in the United States and it was not unusual to be anti-Asian in southern California at that time. Barbara Olenyik Morrow, another of her biographers, explained that the book was intentionally playing to the era's ethnic prejudices. The Literary Review , ignoring its anti-Asian content, noted its "wholesome charm. The White Flag , criticized as an old-fashioned melodrama, failed to make the bestseller list; however, the story was serialized in Good Housekeeping magazine beginning in , in advance of the book's release.

By the time of its publication, Stratton-Porter's interests had shifted toward filmmaking. Both of them were written at her home on Catalina Island and published posthumously. The Keeper of the Bees is a story about a World War I veteran who regains his heath through the restorative "power and beauty of nature. The Magic Garden , about a girl of divorced parents, was written for her two granddaughters, whose parents divorced when they were young. Filmmaker James Leo Meehan, Stratton-Porter's business partner and son-in-law, wrote a screenplay of the novel shortly after Stratton-Porter had completed the manuscript.

Stratton-Porter, a keen observer of nature, wrote eight nonfiction nature books that were moderate sellers compared to her novels. Both of these nature books were slow sellers. Music of the Wild , also published by Jennings and Graham, warned of the adverse effects that the destruction of trees and swamps would have on rainfall. Her warnings appeared nearly two decades before the Dust Bowl of the s and well in advance of present-day environmental concerns about climate change. Moths of the Limberlost , the nature book of which Stratton-Porter was "most proud," was dedicated to Neltje Blanchan , a fellow nature writer and the wife of her publisher, Frank Nelson Doubleday.

Praised for its content, it described birdlife using easy-to-understand language for the general public. Wings was published a year before her death; Tales You Won't Believe was published posthumously. While literary critics called her novels overly sentimental, academics dismissed her nature writing because they felt that her research methods were unscientific. Stratton-Porter, who was not a trained scientist, centered her field research on her own interests in observing the domestic behavior of wild birds, such as their nest-building, diets, and social behavior.

Her writing tried to explain nature in ways that her readers could understand and avoided scientific jargon and tedious, dry statistics.