James Allen

James Allen was born in Leicester, England, and worked as a private secretary before devoting himself to writing. He moved to Ilfracombe on the Devon coast, where he wrote a number of short inspirational books. As a Man Thinketh, published in 1903, argues that a person's thoughts shape character and circumstance. It has stayed in print for more than a century and is often cited as an early work of the self help movement.