Porter spent her childhood on a farm where she nurtured her love for natural history. She, along with her husband and daughter, lived in a cabin near the  Limberlost, an extensive and savage swamp, named after Limber who had been lost there. She draws on her experience to create a story that is simple and heart-warming.

Freckles is an abandoned orphan, with only one hand. Having grown up in an environment devoid of love and care, he is overwhelmed by the kindness of Mclean, who employs him to patrol the rugged trails. Despite his youth and one hand, Freckles convinces Mclean that he will face the challenge. Right from the first meeting, Mclean is impressed by the boy’s pluck, quiet strength and meticulousness.

All by himself, armed with a revolver and a cudgel, Freckles takes on an assignment that would daunt the most fearless man. The timid boy overcomes his terror of the wilderness which abounds in snakes and outlaws. The shy, silent, sensitive boy who hungers for love, soon wins the hearts of the Duncans and Mclean.

He is fascinated by the birds in the forest, feeding them in the harsh winter and showering them with all the affection he himself was deprived of. When Mclean chances upon evidence of the boy’s artistry, he is filled with awe. Such inspiration, such aesthetic perfection could only emerge from 'the heart of a painter, the soul of a poet', he thinks.

Finding a family

Mclean admires the way Freckles deals with Wessner, the timber thief. Earlier, Wessner had offered Freckles five hundred dollars to sell out his patron and benefactor, only to be spurned. Realising that Freckles needs to be protected from Wessner and his villainous associate Black Jack, Mclean doubles the security. Freckles is distraught as he wants to go it alone.

All he wants is a second gun as he is “slow-like about reloading”. Mclean, moved by the boy’s courage and spirit, says he is going to educate his ‘son’ Freckles. When asked for the reason, Mclean’s reply is simple and sincere: “Because I love you, Freckles.” His heart brimming with gratitude, Freckles send up a prayer: “Thank you for each separate god thing that has come to me.”

 His meeting with the Swamp Angel and the Bird Woman transports Freckles to a world of joy hitherto unknown to him. His entire life revolves round the Limberlost— its flowers and ferns; its trees, birds, animals and insects.

He guards the swamp with passionate intensity from the onslaught of vandals such as Wessner and Black Jack.
With the love and care lavished on him by Mclean and the Duncans, he experiences a gamut of emotions that erase his former bitterness, except for one gnawing  problem— the mystery of his birth.

The  Swamp Angel goes in quest of his birth, to make Freckles fight for his life. She discovers that he is the grandson of an Irish nobleman and heir to a vast fortune. His mother had loved him dearly and his father has braved flood, fire and famine to be with his wife. All the questions that had been vexing the boy are answered.

Does Freckles go off to Ireland to claim what is rightfully his? Can he relinquish the hold that Limberlost, with its compelling beauty, has on him? Will be distance himself from Mclean who gave him so much paternal love and to whom he is so precious?

The story line makes an impact because of its fairy-tale-like simplicity. The way Freckles blends with nature and nature with him, is extraordinary.

The numerous details of nature, in all its moods, are as skillfully woven as a lacy fabric, rich in texture and intricate in design. As an ecologist, Porter brings out the relationship between man and his environment— very relevant today when environmental issues are burning topics.

A welcome change from the frenzied world of fantasy, the book is as soothing as balm and as tranquilising as nature itself.

FRECKLES by GENE STRATTON  PORTER  ( A Yearling Classic)