The setting is an important part of Allen's stories. He describes with the
graphic touch of a true nature lover the witchery of Kentucky's fallow
meadows, the beauty of her hempfields, the joys of a June day. A noisy
conflict could not occur in the restful garden of _The Kentucky Cardinal_,
while in the frontier garden of Mrs. Falconer, in _The Choir Invisible_,
the ambitious, fiery John Gray seems not out of harmony because the
presence of the adjacent wild forest affects the entire scene. In one way
or another, the landscapes, by preparing the reader for the moods of the
characters, play a part in all of Allen's novels. He is a master of the art
that holds together scenes and actions. His descriptive powers are unusual,
and his style is highly wrought. It is more that of the literary essayist
than of the simple narrator, and it is full of poetic touches, delicate
suggestions, and refined art.
MARY N. MURFREE (CHARLES EGBERT CRADDOCK), 1850-
Miss Mary Noailles Murfree, better known as Charles Egbert Craddock, was
born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in 1850. For fifteen years she spent her
summers in the Tennessee mountains among the people of whom she writes.
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