Charles Grant Blairfindie Allen (1848 - 1899) was a science writer and novelist, pioneer in science fiction, with the 1895 novel The British Barbarians. This book, published about the same time as H. G. Wells's The Time Machine, which includes a mention of Allen, also described time travel, although the plot is quite different. His short story The Thames Valley Catastrophe (published 1901 in The Strand Magazine) describes the destruction of London by a sudden and massive volcanic eruption. In this book: The British Barbarians - (1895) The Woman Who Did - (1895) Strange Stories - (1884) An African Millionaire - (1897) Miss Cayley's Adventures - (1899) Falling in Love, With Other Essays on More Exact Branches of Science An African Millionaire: Episodes in the Life of the Illustrious