The Redemption of Kenneth Galt is a romantic fiction set in Georgia by American author William
Nathaniel Harben. Harben portrayed the mountaineers of his native north Georgia with realistic
colors in the novel. He specialized in stories about the people of the mountains of Northern
Georgia and often included lavish descriptions of their beauty. His sharp honest observations
of the speech traditions wisdom and values of north Georgia mountaineers were a prominent
contribution to the literature of the American South. Excerpt from The Redemption of Kenneth
Galt YOUNG Doctor Dearing sat in the little church at an open window through which he had a
partial view of that portion of old Stafford which stretched out desultorily toward the east.
Immediately in front was a common fairly well covered with grass and weeds except at the pawed
and beaten spot where the public hitched its riding-horses and beyond stood rows of
old-fashioned residences of brick and stone interspersed witha few modern frame cottages which
in gaudy paint thrust themselves nearer the street than their more stately neighbors.
