Gene Stratton-Porter

A man at one with nature finds himself enchanted by a vision in this classic Midwestern romance from the naturalist and author of The Keeper of the Bees. David Langston, the Harvester, allows his dog to decide his fate every year-to join the money-making scramble in the noise and grime of the city, or continue harvesting the goldenseal, mullein, and ginseng in the woods around their country home. Every year, his dog Bel chooses correctly-for...

Kate Bates is another Gene Stratton-Porter unsung hero in the tradition of Elnora Comstock, of A Girl of the Limberlost, and Freckles and Laddie, of books of the same name. As the youngest child, and female, in a large prosperous farm family, she has been designated as her mother's helper in old age. Kate finds this unfair since all of the brothers have been given land and the older sisters sent to teacher training. With the help of a nephew and sister-in-law,...

"Laddie: A True Blue Story" is somewhat autobiographical, pulling places, characters, and experiences from her youth in Indiana at Limberlost. Porter's styles were wide ranging, from naturalist tales to romance stories. Her talents in photography would lead her to become one of the first women to establish a movie studio and production company. Laddie: A True Blue Story is a fascinating account of a young woman growing up in a rich Indiana environment,...

While Gene Stratton-Porter is known best for her portrayals of nature (such as in The Girl of the Limberlost), Her Father's Daughter is a fascinating look at anti-Asian bias. In this novel, a young woman struggles to find her place in society in a story that is overwhelmed by white supremacist rhetoric. Set in California during the 1920s, this book makes an excellent launching point for a discussion of historical racism and how a community's views...

This early 20th-century classic chronicles the adventures of an orphaned newspaper boy in his 'hand-to-hand scuffle' with life in a midwestern metropolis. Gene Stratton-Porter's faith in the healing power of nature is also apparent, in a lovingly depicted tamarack swamp set near the city.

Compiled in one book, the essential collection of books by Gene Stratton-Porter: At the Foot of the Rainbow; A Daughter of the Land; Freckles; A Girl Of The Limberlost; The Harvester; Her Father's Daughter; Laddie; Michael O'Halloran; Moths of the Limberlost; The Song of the Cardinal.

Three classic stories for young adults about the wonder and power of our connections with nature and each other. Gene Stratton-Porter was a pioneer naturalist, wilderness advocate, and author. She wrote both fiction and nonfiction about the woods and swampland that she loved so much, and her tales of finding independence and courage through building a relationship with nature touched millions of readers both when she was writing and to this day....