When allen was only 15 years of age, his father was robbed and murdered, forcing allen to leave school and begin work in order to help support his family. Until he was introduced to the works of Tolstoy at the age of 38, allen’s life was one of relatively undistinguished commerce. Following his encounter with the writings of the great Russian novelist (whose doctrine of nonresistance would later inspire mahatma Ghandi), allen (along with his wife, Lily and Daughter, nohra) moved to ilfracombe in the Devon countryside to live a simple life of contemplation.
Over the next nine years, he produced 19 works and edited and published (along with his wife), the philosophical magazine The Light of Reason. The central notion of the majority of allen’s books was that the power of thought could be harnessed to improve the individual and their circumstances. The most famous example of this philosophy is contained within the 1902 classic, As a Man Thinketh. This book is considered by many to be one of the foundation stones of the self-help and new Thought movements.
James allen died in 1912.