GAP CREEK
by Robert Morgan

Set in turn-of-the-century Appalachia, "Gap Creek" features every conceivable calamity, from flood to fire, sickness to starvation. Yet Robert Morgan records these trials with superb, compassionate clarity--and a hint of a South Carolina drawl.

Whatever trials Job suffered were nothing compared to the tribulations that befall Julie Harmon Richards. Following the deaths of her younger brother and father, 17-year-old Julie takes one look at 18-year-old Hank Richards and falls in love. Following their marriage a month later, the two move from their North Carolina homes to Gap Creek, South Carolina, where Hank works at a cotton mill and Julie cooks and cleans for a Mr. Pendergast in exchange for room and board.