Violet Guttenberg

Born in Manchester in 1880, Violet Leah Guttenberg was a British novelist who also used the names Allen and Thompson-Allen. She came from a family with creative ties—her father was a photographer, and her brother Percy Guttenberg also became known for photography.

Her fiction appeared in the early 1900s. The Power of the Palmist was a mystery novel, while Neither Jew Nor Greek and A Modern Exodus are especially remembered for their interest in Jewish social life, identity, and the pressures of belonging in modern society.

Though not widely famous today, her work still draws attention from readers and scholars interested in Edwardian fiction and Jewish themes in English literature. Several of her books remain accessible through public-domain archives, which has helped keep her writing in circulation.