Charles Richards Allen

Charles Richards Allen (3 May 1885—14 March 1962)[1] was a New Zealand author. He was the son of politician and diplomat James Allen.[2][3] Despite blindness, he published three novels set in England and three set in New Zealand, as well as assorted plays and poetry.[4] He also edited a collection of short stories, Tales by New Zealanders.[4]

Allen was born in London and came to Dunedin as a child.[1] He was educated at Otago Boys' High School.[5] He enrolled at the University of Cambridge, but dropped out due to his deteriorating eyesight.[1] He subsequently trained for the clergy, and served as a deacon at All Saints' Church, Dunedin from 1909 to 1916.[1] In 1916 he resigned from the church, having become totally blind, and turned to literary work. He wrote by dictation, or by typing and having his amanuensis polish the manuscript.[1] His early work was set in England, where he had lived from 1919 to 1926.[6] His later work was set in New Zealand (and specifically Dunedin), and was semi-autobiographical. In 1941 almost all copies of his final novel, The Young Pretender, were destroyed in London by a German bombing raid,[7] and after that he focused on writing poetry and literary criticism.[1]: 22  In 1950 he began publishing a literary magazine, "The Wooden Horse",[8] but it failed in 1951 after eight issues.[1]: 24 

In December 1949 he married Florence Stubbs in Dunedin.[9]

Works

  • The Ship Beautiful (1925)
  • Brown Smock (1926)
  • Tarry, Knight (1927)
  • A Poor Scholar: A Tale of Progress (1936)PAPERS PAST
  • The Hedge Sparrow (1937)
  • The Young Pretender (1939)
  • Tales by New Zealanders (ed) (1938)
  • Local habitation (serial; incomplete)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Holmes, Martin George (2023). "Settler Nationalism and Literary Conservatism in Aotearoa New Zealand: The Case of C. R. Allen (1885–1962)" (PDF). Journal of Australian, Canadian, and Aotearoa New Zealand Studies. 3: 7–36. doi:10.52230/YPDC4098.
  2. ^ "MR C. R. ALLEN". The Press. 16 March 1962. p. 13. Retrieved 26 December 2025 – via Papers Past.
  3. ^ "ALLEN, Sir James, G.C.M.G., K.C.B." Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. 1966. Retrieved 26 December 2025.
  4. ^ a b Nelson Wattie (2006). "Allen, C. R. (Charles Richards Allen)". The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature. Oxford University Press.
  5. ^ "Case 19 - Allen and Billing". Reed gallery. Retrieved 26 December 2025.
  6. ^ Joan Stevens (1966). The New Zealand Novel, 1860-1965. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed. p. 40.
  7. ^ "Literary Casualties". The Press. 18 July 1941. p. 6. Retrieved 26 December 2025 – via Papers Past.
  8. ^ "A NEW VENTURE". Otago Daily Times. 3 May 1950. p. 2. Retrieved 26 December 2025 – via Papers Past.
  9. ^ "DUNEDIN WEDDING". Otago Daily Times. 30 December 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 26 December 2025 – via Papers Past.


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