Grant Allen 
What’s Bred in the Bone (Annotated) 

• This edition includes the following editor’s introduction: Grant Allen, the life of one of the most versatile writers of English literature

Originally published in 1891, “What’s Bred in the Bone” is a novel by Canadian author Grant Allen and is considered by many the craziest nineteenth-century novel.



The convoluted and colourful plot of ‘What’s Bred in the Bone’ is a perfect mix of quirky elements, such as identical twin heroes whose teeth ache simultaneously, a heroine struggling to overcome an irrepressible desire to dance with snakes (or feather boas), murder, illegitimacy and a rather dubious dubious South African diamond hunting spell…



‘What’s Bred in the Bone’ is an extraordinary novel, certainly a testament to Grant Allen’s versatility and mastery of the popular market. Allen wrote this novel as a competition entry and it’s not difficult to see why he beat 20, 000 other entries to pocket the sizeable £1, 000 prize money. “What’s Bred in the Bone” is ridiculous but also ridiculously fun, and well-written enough to be incredibly readable.