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, she defies her parents, becomes a teacher, leaves home. Her real ambition, however, is to own and cultivate a large farm. After rejecting the easy path to her dream, she suffers through a bad marriage but ultimately acquires her land and achieves happiness.

Gene Stratton-Porter (1863-1924) was born on a farm in Wabash County, Indiana. Later, she lived in a cabin adjoining the Limberlost swamp, immortalized in her best-selling A Girl of the Limberlost (Library of Indiana Classics). In 1923 she moved to California for her health. There she organized her own motion picture company to capitalize on the national popularity of her books. Other novels reissued by Indiana University Press include Freckles, Laddie, The Harvester, and The Keeper of the Bees.