Educated at Transylvania University where he received his Master's degree in 1877, Allen began a teaching career. He taught in Kentucky, Missouri and West Virginia, the latter at Bethany College. He began publishing stories during the 1880's, mostly about life in Kentucky and the South. He moved to New York City in 1893 in order to pursue a full-time writing career and later that year his novel, A Kentucky Cardinal, appeared. The book was a complete success among both critics and the public. In 1897, he published The Choir Invisible, which was equally successful. In 1900, The Reign of Law was published, which dealt with religious doubt and Darwinism. The book angered the church and many Allen fans. From this point, his popularity declined and, although he would go on to publish a further dozen or more novels, he never again attained the commercial success he had received earlier. His other works include John Gray (1893), Aftermath (1895), Summer in Arcady (1896), Two Gentlemen of Kentucky (1899), The Mettle of the Pasture (1903), Bride of the Mistletoe (1909), The Heroine in Bronze (1912), The Sword of Youth (1915), A Cathedral Singer (1916) and The Alabaster Box (1923). |
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