James Lane Allen

James Lane Allen (December 21, 1849 – February 18, 1925) was an American novelist and short story writer whose work, including the novel A Kentucky Cardinal, often depicted the culture and dialects of his native Kentucky. His work is characteristic of the late 19th-century local color era, when writers sought to capture the vernacular in their fiction. Allen has been described as "Kentucky's first important novelist".

Early life and education

James Lane Allen was born near Lexington, Kentucky, to Richard and Helen Jane (Foster) Allen on December 21, 1849. Allen, the youngest child in the family, had four sisters Lydia, May, Sally, and Annie, and two brothers, John and Henry. Allen lived at the Scarlet Gate estate in Lexington in the late 1800s until age 22 years.

In 1872, Allen graduated from the University of Kentucky, Lexington, taught at Fort Spring, Kentucky, at Richmond and at Lexington, Missouri, and from 1877 to 1879 at the academy of the University of Kentucky, where he was principal and taught modern languages. In 1880, he was professor of Latin and English at Bethany College (West Virginia); and then became head of a private school at Lexington, Kentucky. Allen spent his youth in Lexington during the Antebellum era, the American Civil War, and the Reconstruction periods. His childhood heavily influenced his writing. He described living at Scarlet Gate in the introduction to A Kentucky Cardinal.

Career in New York

In 1893, Allen moved to New York City, where he lived until his death. He was a contributor to Harper's Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, and other popular magazines of the time. His novels include The Choir Invisible, which was a popular best seller in 1897.