James Allen

James Allen (1864–1912) was an English writer of inspirational books, a forerunner of the self-help and New Thought movements. Born in Leicester, he left school at fifteen when his father was murdered on a trip to America and worked for years as a private secretary in manufacturing firms. In 1902 he retired with his wife to Ilfracombe on the Devon coast, where he lived simply, meditated each morning and wrote a book a year, together with a magazine, The Light of Reason. As a Man Thinketh (1903), a short essay on the power of thought over character and circumstance, has been continuously in print for more than a century.