he usiest an in ngland “T B M E ” This page intentionally left blank he usiest an in ngland “T B M E ” rant llen and the riting rade, G A W T 1875 1900 – Peter Morton “THEBUSIESTMANINENGLAND” © Peter Morton,2005. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2005 978-1-4039-6626-1 All rights reserved.No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2005 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™ 175 Fifth Avenue,New York,N.Y.10010 and Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire,England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St.Martin’s Press,LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States,United Kingdom and other countries.Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-52939-1 ISBN 978-1-4039-8099-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781403980991 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Morton,Peter,1946 Apr.10- The busiest man in England :Grant Allen and the writing trade, 1875–1900 / Peter Morton. p.cm. Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index. 1.Allen,Grant,1848–1899.2.Allen,Grant,1848–1899—Authorship. 3.Authors,English—19th century—Biography.4.England—Intellectual life— 19th century.5.Authorship—History—19th century.I.Title. PR4004.A2Z78 2005 821(cid:2).914—dc22 2004050853 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd.,Chennai,India. First edition:April 2005 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is for Heather This page intentionally left blank Now see how long a letter I have written unto you, going the Apostle one better, with my own left hand: only the busiest man in England could have found time to do it. Grant Allen to “Fiona Macleod,” 1894 This page intentionally left blank ontents C List of Plates xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvii Introduction “The Most Hateful of Professions?” 1 1 Canada and Oxford (1848–1873) 13 2 Jamaica (1873–1876) 27 3 Setting out the Stall (1876–1880) 45 4 “A Pedlar Crying Stuff”: Selling the Wares (1880–1889) 73 5 The Stock in Trade: Writing Science 95 6 The Stock in Trade: Light Fiction 111 7 The Prosperous Tradesman (1890–1895) 125 8 Dealing with the “Dissenting Grocer” 133 9 Retailing The Woman Who Did 147 10 Last Orders (1896–1899) 173 Conclusion “We of the Proletariate ...” 187 Abbreviations in the Notes 197 Notes 199 Bibliography 225 Index 245