Introduction   On Racism   Epigraphs   A History of the Pulps   A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z   

Glossary and Character Taxonomy  Breakdown by Country of Origin   Bibliography   Table of Contents    The Best of the Encyclopedia

Allen, Mac. Mac Allen was created by Bernhard Kellermann and appeared in Der Tunnel (1913); the novel was filmed as The Tunnel in 1935.

Mac Allen is a brilliant engineer and scientist who has invented the unbreakable metal “Allanite.” He gathers together a group of investors and proposes the construction of a transatlantic tunnel, opening in New Jersey and in Biscay, France. Construction on the tunnel progresses well until, four years into the project, the miners break into a gas-filled cavern. The gas ignites, killing thousands of men and wrecking part of the tunnel. The tunnel workers protest and go on strike, Allan is forced to turn machine guns on the strikers, the investors sue Allan, and Allan’s wife and children are killed by a mob. Then Wolf, the Hungarian minister of finance who oversaw the treasury of the tunnel project, commits suicide. Construction of the tunnel is delayed for another five years, and in all it is twenty-four years before the tunnel is completed.

Table of Contents / Annotations / Blog / Books / Patreon / Twitter / Contact me