"Twelve Tales" is a unique collection of short stories selected by Grant Allen himself. The stories are a vivid combination of horror, science fiction and detective tales. The introduction offers a window into why Grant Allen decided to become a writer of fiction and what the origin and the inception of some of his works was.



Grant Allen was a Canadian writer who lived in the period 1848 – 1899. His writing career began around 1876 when he published a series of essays on science. His first books, "Physiological Aesthetics" and "Flowers and Their Pedigrees" took up this subject as well. Grant Allen was also a pioneer in science fiction. He wrote about thirty science fiction novels in the period 1884-1899. In his later works, Allen also took up some revolutionary theories for the time regarding marriage. "The Woman Who Did" which depicts the life of an independent woman who takes care of her child on her own became a bestseller.