John Fox was an American journalist, short story writer and novelist. Fox was born in Kentucky, educated at Harvard, and became a journalist in New York. A Mountain Europa was his first novel serialized in Century Magazine. The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come, published in 1903, made the New York Times top ten list of best selling books. Many of Fox's novels are historical romances set in the area of his childhood. The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come tells the story of the life of Kentucky mountaineers. where Chad, an orphan boy, secures an education, fights for the North in the Civil War, and returns home to find happiness and love.