Galt, John (1779–1839)

Scottish novelist. He was the author of Annals of the Parish (1821), in which he portrays the life of a Lowlands village, using the local dialect. An effective interpreter of Scottish rural and small-town life, in which capacity he contributed to the development of the Scottish novel, he was also an instigator of the political novel.

Born in Irvine, Ayrshire, he moved to London in 1804, then travelled extensively in Europe, and went to Canada as secretary of a land company in 1826. He founded the Canadian town of Guelph, and Galt, on the Grand River, Ontario, was named after him. In 1829 he returned to Scotland.

While travelling in Europe he met the poet Byron, whose life he wrote, published in 1830. Back in England, he published ‘Letters from the Levant’ in Blackwood's Magazine, The Ayrshire Legatees (1820), and his masterpiece, Annals of the Parish. His other works include an Autobiography (1833), Literary Life and Miscellanies (1834), and a number of novels including The Provost and Sir Andrew Wylie both (1822), The Entail and a historical novel, Ringan Gilhaize, both 1823, The Last of the Lairds (1826), and Lawrie Todd (1830). He is a subtle writer in characterization, humour, and style, achieving his effects by fine touches and is unrivalled in his delineation of life in small Scottish towns.