James Lane Allen (1849-1925) was an American novelist and short story writer who wrote about the culture and people of his native Kentucky. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and attended Transylvania University and the University of Virginia. He began writing in 1876 and published his first novel, A Kentucky Cardinal, in 1895. He went on to write several more novels, including The Choir Invisible (1897), The Reign of Law (1900), and The Mettle of the Pasture (1903). He also wrote numerous short stories, many of which were collected in The Blue-Grass Region of Kentucky (1901). Allen was a master of the regionalist style of writing, and his works are considered to be among the best examples of American regional literature. He was also a noted essayist and critic, and his works were widely read and admired during his lifetime. He died in 1925 in Lexington, Kentucky.
By Unknown · First published 1925 · Genre: Biography, Literary Criticism, History