George Allan England (February 9, 1877 - June 26, 1936) was an American writer and explorer, best known for his speculative and science fiction. He attended Harvard University and later in life unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Maine.
Life England was born in Nebraska. He attended Harvard University, where he received Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) and Master of Arts (M.A.) degrees. In 1912 he stood for Governor of Maine as the candidate of the Socialist Party of America. In that election, he finished in third place with 2,081 votes (1.47%). England died in a hospital in New Hampshire, although there is a legend that he disappeared on a treasure hunt.
Science fiction England's writing career took place mainly in New York and Maine. Many of his works have a socialist theme. Influences on England's writing include H. G. Wells, Jack London and Algernon Blackwood.Richard A. Lupoff, "England, George Allan" in Twentieth-Century Science-Fiction Writers by Curtis C. Smith. St. James Press, 1986, (p.230-1).
England's trilogy, Darkness and Dawn (published in 1912, 1913 and 1914 as The Vacant World, Beyond the Great Oblivion and Afterglow), is perhaps his most successful work. The books tell the story of two modern humans who awake a thousand years after the Earth was devastated by a meteor who then work to rebuild civilization.
England's novel The Air Trust (1915) is the story of a billionaire, Isaac Flint, who attempts to control the very air people breathe, and the violent consequences of his ambition and greed. In the concluding chapter, Flint is described as one of "the most sinister and cruel minds ever evolved upon this planet."George Allan England. The Air Trust. St. Louis, MO. Phil Wagner. 1915. p. 329.
England's short story, "The Thing from—'Outside'", which had originally appeared in Hugo Gernsback's magazine Science and Invention, was reprinted in the first issue of the first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, in April 1926.Ashley, Time Machines, p. 51.
Other works
In addition to his science fiction works, England also occasionally wrote about remote or little-known places for The Saturday Evening Post. For instance, he wrote several articles documenting the seal hunt in Newfoundland, which were eventually compiled into Vikings of the Ice (1924). Similarly, in Isle of Romance (1929), England recorded his travels to the various remote islands across the Caribbean and eastern North America, including St. Pierre and Miquelon, Sable Island, and Grand Cayman.
Novels
Darkness and Dawn Series The Vacant World (1912) Beyond the Great Oblivion (1913) The Afterglow (1914)
Other Novels Beyond White Seas (1910) The Elixir of Hate (1910) The Empire in the Air (1914) The Air Trust (1915) The Fatal Gift (1915) The Golden Blight (1916) The Gift Supreme (1916) Bill Jenkins, Buccaneer (1917) Cursed (1919) The Flying Legion (1920) Adventure Isle (1926)
Short stories Pod, Bender and Co (October 1916) - Short story collection When Pod Took the Count A Flyer in Annuities Birds of Passage "Ammunition — With Care" Art for Art's Sake The Old Homestead Pod Flits A Game of Solitaire Crayons and Clay The Turning of the Worm Lobsters and Loot The Supreme Getaway Knight Errants Up-to-Date The Kimberley Special A Passage at Arms Fly-Time The Thing--From Outside (2016, short story collection)