Elnora's mother holds a grudge! And, she just won't let go. Elnora does everything she can to please her mother, but try as she may--nothing works. Her mother just can't let go of the emotional pain of having lost her husband when Elnora was born. The child is just too much of a reminder of what she could have had in her life if he had lived.

Life was hard in 1909. Money was tight. Even though Elnora's mother could sell some of the timber on the land (and be set for life) she refuses to do it. Again, it's that old nagging reminder of her husband and why they bought this place to build a life. It's a living memorial in her mind. She won't hand over a pittance to Elnora--not even for clothes to go to school.

From the time she was quite young, Elnora had been collecting butterflies and moths from the forested swamps around her house. The Limberlost had been her playground and refuge; and, she cultivated a wonderful love of nature that was quite unusual for girls of that time period. With a deep passion and ingenuity, she comes up with a plan to not only get the money for school, new clothes, and books, but also to mend her mother's broken heart.

Gene Stratton-Porter used her position and income as a well-known author to support conservation of Limberlost Swamp and other wetlands in the state of Indiana. Her novel A Girl of the Limberlost was adapted four times as a film, most recently in 1990 in a made-for-TV version.