George Allan England (February 9, 1877 - June 26, 1936) was an American writer and explorer, best known for his speculative and science fiction. He attended Harvard University and later in life unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Maine.
Life
England was born in Nebraska. He attended Harvard University, where he received Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) and Master of Arts (M.A.) degrees. In 1912 he stood for Governor of Maine as the candidate of the Socialist Party of America. In that election, he finished in third place with 2,081 votes (1.47%). England died in a hospital in New Hampshire, although there is a legend that he disappeared on a treasure hunt.
Science fiction
England's writing career took place mainly in New York and Maine. Many of his works have a socialist theme. Influences on England's writing include H. G. Wells, Jack London and
Algernon Blackwood.
England's trilogy, Darkness and Dawn (published in 1912, 1913 and 1914 as The Vacant World, Beyond the Great Oblivion and Afterglow), is perhaps his most successful work. The books tell the story of two modern humans who awake a thousand years after the Earth was devastated by a meteor who then work to rebuild civilization.
England's novel The Air Trust (1915) is the story of a billionaire, Isaac Flint, who attempts to control the very air people breathe, and the violent consequences of his ambition and greed. In the concluding chapter, Flint is described as one of "the most sinister and cruel minds ever evolved upon this planet."
England's short story, "The Thing from—'Outside'", which had originally appeared in Hugo Gernsback's magazine Science and Invention, was reprinted in the first issue of the first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, in April 1926.
