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ALLEN RAINE’S LIFE

Allen Raine

(1836-1908), born Anne Adeliza Evans, became a prolific writer when her husband took early retirement due to ill health and the couple settled in Tresaith on the Cardigan coast in Wales. She be

came one of the most popular authors of the turn of the 20th century, selling over a million copies of her books in Britain alone. Read more about Allen Raine here.

 

 

HER WORK

In 1856 Anne moved back to Newcastle Emlyn and

married Beynon Puddicombe in 1872. The wedding was held at Penbryn Church (near Tresaith) and the newlyweds moved to Croydon, where Beynon was a foreign correspondent with a private Bank. It was not a happy marriage and Anne was frequently confined to her bed with various illnesses. They moved to North London, and it appears that this is when Anne started to write. She entered the 1894 Eisteddfod – the best serial story in English or Welsh characterising Welsh life – and shared the first prize with “Ynysoer”. This encouraged her to write “Mifanwy” which was completed in 1896. It was rejected by several publishers before Hutchinsons agreed to publish it under the title “The Welsh Singer”. This was published in 1897 and had sold 316,000 copies by 1908 when she died. Read more on Allen Raine's work here.