A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter
Reviewed by KarenRatings
Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content
LANGUAGE
VIOLENCE
SEXUAL CONTENT
ADULT THEMES
Ratings Explanation
Language: One minor swear word; Lord’s name taken in vain once
Violence: Kate Comstock slaps Elnora’s face for “telling her mother what to do”, when Elnora was only trying to save a valuable moth.
Sexual Content: Kate Comstock learns that her husband many years ago had been unfaithful to her. Implied affair.
Adult Content: Pete Corson spies on Elnora through her bedroom window (like a Peeping Tom). Pete Corson and his gang roam the woods at night. They are thieves. Some of Elnora’s hard-earned money is stolen. Elnora suffers from shame due to her mother’s neglect.
Synopsis
Set in Indiana during the early 1900’s, Elnora is the teenage daughter of Kate Comstock, a bitter woman still pining for her deceased husband. Kate refuses to love or support Elnora’s ambitions, which include an education and learning to play the violin. On her own, through funds raised by collecting moths in the Limberlost Forest , Elnora manages to fulfill her dreams, while being a role-model to others. Eventually, Kate learns that her husband was unfaithful to her and this information is a catalyst for a positive change of heart. Kate then becomes a devoted mother, but this isn’t until after Elnora has graduated from high school. The second half of the book changes gears to a love story. Phillip Ammon is a young man with similar interests of moths and the outdoors. Elnora and Phillip gradually fall in love, yet Phillip has a long-standing engagement with a jealous, Edith Carr. Elnora, a true heroine, creates a plan in which everyone’s hearts can be happy in the end.
This book should be classified into the same simple, old-fashioned genre of literature as Anne of Green Gables, Pollyanna, or Little Women. If you like these types of stories where altruism, optimism and love are underlying values, then this would prove an enjoyable read.