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Description
First published in 1913, The Heart of the Hills is the last novel completed by John Fox Jr. and the final piece in his mountain trilogy. This companion to The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come and The Trail of the Lonesome Pine is crucial to an understanding of Fox's views.
In The Heart of the Hills Fox revises his earlier thoughts about mountain people. He depicts more clearly than in his previous work just how they were exploited by outside industrialists-those men who, in the words of Fox's hero Jason Hawn, "got rich diggin' our coal an' cuttin' our timber." He also reveals the long-term impact of this exploitation on the environment. Having witnessed the ravages of clearcutting on his travels through the mountain country of Kentucky and Virginia in 1911-1912, Fox was all the more receptive to the warnings voiced by his environmentally conscious father. From their letters and diaries it is clear that John Fox Sr.'s influence permeates The Heart of the Hills; in this work, dedicated to his dying father, Fox determined to make amends to the mountain people.
John Fox Jr. (1863–1919), author of The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, and many other books, remains one of Kentucky best-known and most popular writers.
"Welcome for readers interested in Kentucky authors and Appalachian literature. A very fine foreword by Darlene Wilson adds much to our understanding of Fox's impetus for writing this particular book at this particular time."—Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
Publication Date
1996
Publisher
The University Press of Kentucky
Place of Publication
Lexington, KY
ISBN
9780813108827
eISBN
9780813158129
Keywords
John Fox Jr., Kentucky, Appalachia
Disciplines
Literature in English, North America
Recommended Citation
Fox, John Jr., "The Heart of the Hills" (1996). Literature in English, North America. 48.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_english_language_and_literature_north_america/48
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Notes
Foreword by Darlene Wilson