1900. Allen, was born on a farm near Lexington, Kentucky. As a young boy, he lived the life of the Southern ante-bellum gentry, but by the time he was a teenager the Civil War and Reconstruction had ushered in a new era for both himself and his family. Later, he moved to New York City to pursue writing full time. A Kentucky Cardinal, set in 1850, features a romance between a naturalist and a society girl. Its release established Allen's reputation as a writer with both readers and critics. Aftermath is Allen's sequel to A Kentucky Cardinal.