James Allen (November 28, 1864 -- January 24, 1912) was a British
philosophical writer known for his inspirational books and poetry and as
a pioneer of the self-help movement. His best known work, As a Man
Thinketh, has been mass-produced since its publication in 1902. It has
been a source of inspiration to motivational and self-help authors.Born
in Leicester, England, into a working-class family, Allen was the elder
of two brothers. His mother could neither read nor write while his
father, William, was a factory knitter. In 1879 following a downturn in
the textile trade of central England, Allen's father traveled alone to
America to find work and establish a new home for the family. Within two
days of arriving his father was pronounced dead at New York City
Hospital, believed to be a case of robbery and murder. At age fifteen,
with the family now facing economic disaster, Allen was forced to leave
school and find work.For much of the 1890s, Allen worked as a private
secretary and stationer in several British manufacturing firms. In 1893
Allen moved to London where he met Lily Louisa Oram who he then wed in
1895. In 1898 Allen found an occupation in which he could showcase his
spiritual and social interests as a writer for the magazine The Herald
of the Golden Age. At this time, Allen entered a creative period where
he then published his first book of many books, From Poverty to Power
(1901). In 1902 Allen began to publish his own spiritual magazine, The
Light of Reason, later retitled The Epoch.In 1902 Allen published his
third and most famous book As a Man Thinketh. Loosely based on the
biblical proverb, As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he, the small
work eventually became read around the world and brought Allen
posthumous fame as one of the pioneering figures of modern inspirational
thought. The book's minor audience allowed Allen to quit his
secretarial work and pursue his writing and editing career. In 1903, the
Allen family retired to the town of Ilfracombe where Allen would spend
the rest of his life. Continuing to publish the Epoch, Allen produced
more than one book per year until his death in 1912. There he wrote for
nine years, producing 19 works.Following his death in 1912, his wife
continued publishing the magazine under the name The Epoch. Lily Allen
summarized her husband's literary mission in the preface to one of his
posthumously published manuscripts, Foundation Stones to Happiness and
Success saying:He never wrote theories, or for the sake of writing; but
he wrote when he had a message, and it became a message only when he had
lived it out in his own life, and knew that it was good. Thus he wrote
facts, which he had proven by practice
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