Gene Stratton-Porter was a feminist, naturalist, novelist, photographer, and movie producer in the early 1900s. Have you ever heard of her?
Think of David Attenborough, JK Rowling, and George Lucas all rolled into one. Gene Stratton Porter was way ahead of her time. It is a joy to present her to you.
This post will introduce you to Gene Stratton-Porter and her final book, The Magic Garden.
My Introduction to Gene Stratton Porter
I was around ten years old when my mother read Gene Stratton-Porter’s book The Magic Garden out loud to us in the evening. Momma had already instilled in me a wonder of nature, compassion, and love. This book wrapped all those things into one, and I became a huge fan. Any time we’d go to a thrift store, I’d scour the used books searching for Gene Stratton-Porter titles: Laddie, The Girl of the Limberlost, Freckles, Keeper of the Bees, etc.
Years later, with the introduction of Ebay, I continued my collection, and I have every one of her fiction novels (several copies in fact) and continue to collect her other works. Reading in my great grandmother’s journal, I noted that she specifically recommended people read Gene Stratton-Porter’s books.
Have you ever buried your nose in an old book? It is the most wonderful smell. (Heck, if my husband wore “Old Book” cologne he’d get lucky every night.) Mrs. Stratton-Porter’s books are most definitely old. Her first novel, published anonymously in 1893 was The Strike at Shane’s. The first published under her name was Song of the Cardinal in 1903. The Magic Garden was her last, published in 1927 after her death.
Who Was Gene Stratton Porter?
Birth
Geneva Grace Stratton, born on August 17, 1863, was the last (by six years) of Mark and Mary Stratton’s twelve children. Raised on a 240 acre Indiana farm with babbling creek, orchards, gardens, and a tunnel they dug to assist in the underground railroad, her early years were spent working and running free on this farm. She grew to love and care for God’s creatures – especially birds. Being tamed to attend school was difficult for her, but once she realized there was no escape, she became a wonderful (yet precocious) student.
Childhood
At eleven, her mother came down with typhoid fever, and they had to leave the farm to live with her married sister’s family in Wabash. Four short months later, her mother passed away. Life in the city was an adjustment, but she excelled at school and her love of writing “mounted to fever heat. She neglected everything else and wrote.” (from “The Lady of the Limberlost” by Jeannette Porter Mehan) Her love of birds was such that she would take the ones she was caring for to school with her in cages.
Marriage
In April of 1886, she married Charles D. Porter, a wealthy businessman thirteen years her senior. She kept her last name, adding her husband’s. This was not common since women had very little rights, but Gene was not the ordinary woman. Before their marriage, she had made it clear how she felt about the restrictive trends surrounding marriage in that era. They had one daughter, and Gene pursued her love of nature and exploring along with caring for her home and family. She carried a camera and a gun into the Limberlost swamp.
Writing & Photography
When Jeannette was old enough to go to school, Gene began writing articles in secret. She’d send photographs and natural history hints to an outdoor magazine until editors finally accepted her work. This success led to her first nature book and subsequent fiction novels. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, only 55 books published between 1895 and 1945 sold upwards of a million books. Gene Stratton Porter wrote 5 of those. Her books dealt with many social ills of the day, including homelessness, abandonment, and divorce.
It amazes me that her name does not appear on the top lists of authors in that time period, since her books were translated into many languages including braille, and it is estimated she had 50 million readers worldwide. In a book written by her daughter, Jeannette, it is said that she was not accepted by the literary establishment because she was “ungrammatical” and “. . . they accused her of writing ‘sugary romance,’ of idealising her characters until they were unnatural, . . .” Gene Stratton-Porter did not bother with their critique. She knew how sordid and corrupt the world was and decided to write stories that helped people rise to a higher ideal. People of all backgrounds adored her writing — from the banker, to the housewife, to the man in prison.
You can read and listen to many of her books for free, as they are public domain and have been uploaded to many libraries. She has twenty-six published books.
Nature Conservationist
Gene loved the Limberlost swamps of Indiana and wrote of them in her stories. As the land was drained and trees cut for lumber, in 1917 she became a conservationist and joined the movement to save wetlands. She also joined the movement to protect the elk in Jackson Hole, Wyoming from extinction.
Gene Stratton Porter Productions, Inc.
Several of her books were made into movies, but she was not happy with the outcome. They did not stick to her novels. That sounds familiar, right? After moving to California in 1919, she developed the first production company owned by a woman. She hoped her films would be shown in schools and churches as she firmly believed that moral goodness is closely tied to communion with nature. Eight of Gene Stratton-Porter books have been adapted for film. The Girl of the Limberlost has been adapted for film four times, the latest being 1990. There are very few films remaining today. You can watch some of them on YouTube, like Laddie.
Gene Stratton Porter’s Death
Gene Stratton-Porter died in 1924 after the car she was riding in and a streetcar collided. Her right side had been crushed. She was burried in Hollywood, CA, but in 1999 her grandsons had her remains, as well as their mother, Jeannette’s, moved to the Gene Stratton-Porter Historical Site at Sylvan Lake, Indiana.
Gene’s two former homes were bought by the state of Indiana and registered as a State Historical Site to honor her work and tell her story. New York State honored her by planting 10,000 trees along Lake George. Sixty-eight years after her death, the restoration of the Loblolly Marsh, the heart of the Limberlost she loved, wrote about, and tried to save in 1917 began.
Gene Stratton-Porter personally answered every single letter from her fans, because she considered them friends and family. She is a wonderful example of following your dreams and making the world a better place.
The Magic Garden
The Magic Garden is a short book of 181 pages. It begins by introducing us to Amaryllis, a darling but naughty five-year-old who, because of divorce, is left in the care of her mother, which actually means a team of household hired help. Her mother prefers the company of wealthy men in far-off countries.
Her brother, Peter, was awarded to her Father. He is equally alone, but twice as bitter since he has been alone twice as long as Amaryllis. He is unkind and finds great pleasure in taking out his anger on her.
To pass the time, Amaryllis has her chauffer take her on long drives in the countryside, where she can see nature and other children playing. She longs for the kisses and attention they receive. One day, she sees a perfectly lovely creek. She convinces her chauffeur to pull over and roll down the window so she can listen to the laughing brook. There are fields of grazing sheep, and the sun is warm. The chauffeur dozes off and Amaryllis takes the opportunity to run away.
A boy mimicking the sounds of nature on his violin finds her. She tells him he can call her Little Hungry Heart and convinces him no one in the world cares that she is gone. John Guido’s dad, an artist, is away on business, so he takes her home. (A neighbor lady helps tend her.) For three days he shares his enchanted world, where grass and flowers and animals are loved and grow free. He showers her with the tenderness and love she misses. She dances in the moonlight to his songs on the violin. Eventually, she tells him her name, and he shows her the flower she is named after.
At the end of three days his dad returns, and like any responsible adult, calls the authorities. Her father, Paul Minton, is heart sick at her disappearance, thinking she has been kidnapped. He gets custody of her and vows to make things right.
As the years go by, Amaryllis eventually learns to trust and love her father, but longs to be reunited with Jonny Guido – the first person who ever loved her. Her rich father locates him, but they have gone to Europe. Paul Minton secretly buys the art that finances John Guidos lessons, clothes, and lifestyle. Amaryllis oversees the improvements to their home in their absence.
You’ll have to read this book to find out IF they’re ever reunited. I know you’re thinking they are, so I won’t say anything about the yacht. You’ll have to read and see what happens.
I absolutely adore this book that started my obsession with Gene Stratton-Porter. I hope you do too.
Your Turn
Here’s how the Drather B Reading book club works. Read the book and leave your response to the discussion questions in the COMMENTS. You can get the kindle here for 99 cents. The Internet Archive has an archived copy you can read for free. To get an original, you’re going to spend a pretty penny — but they smell fabulous! and they’re an investment. If you have not yet read the book, don’t read the comments unless you want spoilers.
- What did you think of this book?
- Do you think divorce in 1920 is much different than divorce these days?
- Do you think the chauffer is at fault for letting Amaryllis run away?
- What do you think would have happened to Amaryllis if she hadn’t run away?
- Although it doesn’t say how old John Guido is, I believe he is between 10 and 14. Does it seem strange to you that love (innocent but love none the less) can develop at this young age and span?
- Paul Minton asks Amaryllis about how naughty she used to be, and she answers, “I was starved so near to death that it made me cross and fretful, and I was so lonesome that I screamed just to hear the sound of my own voice.” In my life I have seen many Little Hungry Hearts and have done my best to feed this starvation of love. Is there a part of the book that was specifically touching to you?
- Eventually, Amaryllis secretly goes to Europe to watch John Guido play his violin for large crowds, but she resists the urge to talk to him. Do you think this is realistic? Would you be able?
- Amaryllis arranged for Peter and John Guido to meet. They go off on the Minton yacht together. Amaryllis is left with quite a decision when the yacht goes down in the ocean — to go to her Father or the Father of John Guido. Do you think she made the right decision? What would you have done?
- In this story, Amaryllis, Peter Minton, and John Guido each make small decisions that alter the course of their life. Have you ever had one small decision alter the course of yours? Did it turn out good or bad, and would you have changed anything?
