Allen Grant was a Canadian science writer and novelist who lived from 1848 to 1899. He was a public promoter of evolution in the second half of the nineteenth century.
After assisting Sir W. W. Hunter with his Gazetteer of India in the early 1880s, Allen turned his attention to fiction, and between 1884 and 1899 produced about 30 novels. In 1895, his scandalous book titled The Woman Who Did, promulgating certain startling views on marriage and kindred questions, became a bestseller. The book told the story of an independent woman who has a child out of wedlock. Owing to his concern with these subjects, Allen was associated with Thomas Hardy, whose novel Jude the Obscure (1895) was published the same year as The Woman Who Did.
Other notable works by Allen Grant include:
- The Evolution of the Idea of God: An Inquiry Into the Origins of Religions (1884)
- Falling in Love; With Other Essays on More Exact Branches of Science (1885)
- Strange Stories (1889)
- An African Millionaire: Episodes in the Life of the Illustrious Colonel Clay (1894)
- The Beckoning Hand, and Other Stories (1897)
Allen Grant's work was popular in both his lifetime and after his death. His novels were translated into several languages and were widely read around the world. His non-fiction work helped to popularize the theory of evolution and other scientific ideas of the time.
Allen Grant was a prolific and versatile writer who made significant contributions to both literature and science. His work is still relevant today and continues to be read and enjoyed by people all over the world.
