Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G." Revised 18 May 2015. ''
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, continu ...
'' (sf-encyclopedia.com). Retrieved 22 August 2015. Entry by 'JC/BS' John Clute and
Brian Stableford
Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped ...
. (21 September 186613 August 1946) was an English writer. Prolific in many genres, he wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, history, popular science, satire, biography and autobiography. Wells is now best remembered for his
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
novels and has been called the "father of science fiction."
In addition to his fame as a writer, he was prominent in his lifetime as a forward-looking, even prophetic
social critic
Social criticism is a form of academic or journalistic criticism focusing on social issues in contemporary society, in particular with respect to perceived injustices and power relations in general.
Social criticism of the Enlightenment
The orig ...
who devoted his literary talents to the development of a progressive vision on a global scale. A
futurist
Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abo ...
, he wrote a number of
utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...
n works and foresaw the advent of aircraft, tanks, space travel, nuclear weapons, satellite television and something resembling the
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet.
Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web ...
. His science fiction imagined
time travel
Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...
,
alien invasion
The alien invasion or space invasion is a common feature in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrial lifeforms invade the Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under an intense state, harvest people ...
,
invisibility
Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be ''invisible'' (literally, "not visible"). The phenomenon is studied by physics and perceptual psychology.
Since objects can be seen by light i ...
Brian Aldiss
Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist, and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for o ...
referred to Wells as the "Shakespeare of science fiction", while
Charles Fort
Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold ...
called him a "wild talent".
Wells rendered his works convincing by instilling commonplace detail alongside a single extraordinary assumption per work – dubbed "Wells's law" – leading Joseph Conrad to hail him in 1898 with "O Realist of the Fantastic!". His most notable science fiction works include ''
The Time Machine
''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...
'' (1895), which was his first novel, ''
The Island of Doctor Moreau
''The Island of Doctor Moreau'' is an 1896 science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells (1866–1946). The text of the novel is the narration of Edward Prendick who is a shipwrecked man rescued by a passing boat. He is left on the islan ...
'' (1896), ''
The Invisible Man
''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devo ...
'' (1897), ''
The War of the Worlds
''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...
'' (1898), the military science fiction ''
The War in the Air
''The War in the Air: And Particularly How Mr. Bert Smallways Fared While It Lasted'' is a military science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells.
The novel was written in four months in 1907, and was serialized and published in 1908 in ''Th ...
When the Sleeper Wakes
''The Sleeper Awakes'' is a dystopian science fiction novel by English writer H. G. Wells, about a man who sleeps for two hundred and three years, waking up in a completely transformed London in which he has become the richest man in the worl ...
'' (1910). Novels of social realism such as ''
Kipps
''Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul'' is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1905. It was reportedly Wells's own favourite among his works, and it has been adapted for stage, cinema and television productions, including the musical '' ...
'' (1905) and ''
The History of Mr Polly
''The History of Mr. Polly'' is a 1910 comic novel by H. G. Wells.
Plot summary
The protagonist of ''The History of Mr. Polly'' is an antihero inspired by H. G. Wells's early experiences in the drapery trade: Alfred Polly, born circa ...
'' (1910), which describe lower-middle-class English life, led to the suggestion that he was a worthy successor to
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
, but Wells described a range of social strata and even attempted, in ''
Tono-Bungay
''Tono-Bungay'' is a realist semiautobiographical novel written by H. G. Wells and first published in book form in 1909. It has been called "arguably his most artistic book". It had been serialised before book publication, both in the United ...
'' (1909), a diagnosis of
English society
English society comprises the group behaviour of the English people, and of collective social interactions, organisation and political attitudes in England. The social history of England evidences many social and societal changes over the his ...
as a whole. Wells was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times.
Wells's earliest specialised training was in
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
, and his thinking on ethical matters took place in a
Darwinian
Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that ...
context. He was also an outspoken
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
from a young age, often (but not always, as at the beginning of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
) sympathising with pacifist views. In his later years, he wrote less fiction and more works expounding his political and social views, sometimes giving his profession as that of
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
. Wells was a
diabetic
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
and co-founded the charity The Diabetic Association (known today as
Diabetes UK
Diabetes UK is a British-based patient, healthcare professional and research charity that has been described as "one of the foremost diabetes charities in the UK". The charity campaigns for improvements in the care and treatment of people with d ...
) in 1934.
Life
Early life
Herbert George Wells was born at Atlas House, 162 High Street in
Bromley
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011.
Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, on 21 September 1866. Called "Bertie" by his family, he was the fourth and last child of Joseph Wells, a former domestic gardener, and at the time a shopkeeper and professional
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
er and Sarah Neal, a former
domestic servant
A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
. An inheritance had allowed the family to acquire a shop in which they sold china and sporting goods, although it failed to prosper: the stock was old and worn out, and the location was poor. Joseph Wells managed to earn a meagre income, but little of it came from the shop and he received an unsteady amount of money from playing professional cricket for the Kent county team.Smith, David C. (1986) ''H. G. Wells: Desperately mortal. A biography.'' Yale University Press, New Haven and London
A defining incident of young Wells's life was an accident in 1874 that left him bedridden with a broken leg. To pass the time he began to read books from the local library, brought to him by his father. He soon became devoted to the other worlds and lives to which books gave him access; they also stimulated his desire to write. Later that year he entered Thomas Morley's Commercial Academy, a
private school
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
founded in 1849, following the bankruptcy of Morley's earlier school. The teaching was erratic, the curriculum mostly focused, Wells later said, on producing copperplate handwriting and doing the sort of sums useful to tradesmen. Wells continued at Morley's Academy until 1880. In 1877, his father, Joseph Wells, fractured his thigh. The accident effectively put an end to Joseph's career as a cricketer, and his subsequent earnings as a shopkeeper were not enough to compensate for the loss of the primary source of family income.
No longer able to support themselves financially, the family instead sought to place their sons as
apprentice
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
s in various occupations. From 1880 to 1883, Wells had an unhappy apprenticeship as a
draper
Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher.
History
Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period, ...
at Hyde's Drapery Emporium in
Southsea
Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's s ...
. His experiences at Hyde's, where he worked a thirteen-hour day and slept in a dormitory with other apprentices, later inspired his novels '' The Wheels of Chance'', ''
The History of Mr Polly
''The History of Mr. Polly'' is a 1910 comic novel by H. G. Wells.
Plot summary
The protagonist of ''The History of Mr. Polly'' is an antihero inspired by H. G. Wells's early experiences in the drapery trade: Alfred Polly, born circa ...
'', and ''
Kipps
''Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul'' is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1905. It was reportedly Wells's own favourite among his works, and it has been adapted for stage, cinema and television productions, including the musical '' ...
'', which portray the life of a draper's apprentice as well as providing a critique of society's distribution of wealth.
Wells's parents had a turbulent marriage, owing primarily to his mother's being a
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
and his father's being a
freethinker
Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other metho ...
. When his mother returned to work as a lady's maid (at
Uppark
Uppark is a 17th-century house in South Harting, West Sussex, England. It is a Grade I listed building and a National Trust property.
History
The house, set high on the South Downs, was built for Ford Grey (1655—1701), the first Earl ...
, a country house in Sussex), one of the conditions of work was that she would not be permitted to have living space for her husband and children. Thereafter, she and Joseph lived separate lives, though they never divorced and remained faithful to each other. As a consequence, Herbert's personal troubles increased as he subsequently failed as a draper and also, later, as a chemist's assistant. However, Uppark had a magnificent library in which he immersed himself, reading many classic works, including
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
Thomas More
Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...
's ''
Utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...
'', and the works of Daniel Defoe. When he became the first doyen of science fiction as a distinct genre of fiction, Wells referenced
Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...
's ''
Frankenstein
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ...
'' in relation to his works, writing, "they belong to a class of writing which includes the story of ''Frankenstein''."
Teacher
In October 1879, Wells's mother arranged through a distant relative, Arthur Williams, for him to join the National School at
Wookey
Wookey is a village and civil parish west of Wells, on the River Axe in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Henton and the nearby hamlets of Yarley and Bleadney where the River Axe travels the length ...
in Somerset as a pupil–teacher, a senior pupil who acted as a teacher of younger children. In December that year, however, Williams was dismissed for irregularities in his qualifications and Wells was returned to Uppark. After a short apprenticeship at a chemist in nearby
Midhurst
Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester.
The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...
and an even shorter stay as a boarder at
Midhurst Grammar School
Midhurst Grammar School was a grammar school and later a comprehensive upper school in Midhurst, West Sussex. The school served pupils aged 11 to 18 who usually joined the school from one of the local intermediate schools. It was replaced in 20 ...
, he signed his apprenticeship papers at Hyde's. In 1883, Wells persuaded his parents to release him from the apprenticeship, taking an opportunity offered by Midhurst Grammar School again to become a pupil–teacher; his proficiency in Latin and science during his earlier short stay had been remembered.
The years he spent in Southsea had been the most miserable of his life to that point, but his good fortune in securing a position at Midhurst Grammar School meant that Wells could continue his self-education in earnest. The following year, Wells won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science (later the
Royal College of Science
The Royal College of Science was a higher education institution located in South Kensington; it was a constituent college of Imperial College London from 1907 until it was wholly absorbed by Imperial in 2002. Still to this day, graduates from th ...
in
South Kensington
South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...
, now part of
Imperial College London
Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
) in London, studying
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
under
Thomas Henry Huxley
Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
The stori ...
. As an alumnus, he later helped to set up the Royal College of Science Association, of which he became the first president in 1909. Wells studied in his new school until 1887, with a weekly allowance of 21 shillings (a guinea) thanks to his scholarship. This ought to have been a comfortable sum of money (at the time many
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...
families had "round about a pound a week" as their entire household income), yet in his ''Experiment in Autobiography'' Wells speaks of constantly being hungry, and indeed photographs of him at the time show a youth who is very thin and malnourished.
He soon entered the Debating Society of the school. These years mark the beginning of his interest in a possible reformation of society. At first approaching the subject through Plato's ''Republic'', he soon turned to contemporary ideas of socialism as expressed by the recently formed
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. T ...
William Morris
William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...
. He was also among the founders of ''The Science School Journal'', a school magazine that allowed him to express his views on literature and society, as well as trying his hand at fiction; a precursor to his novel ''
The Time Machine
''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...
'' was published in the journal under the title ''
The Chronic Argonauts
"The Chronic Argonauts" is an 1888 short story by the British science-fiction writer H. G. Wells. It features an inventor who builds a time machine and travels in time using it, and it pre-dates Wells's best-selling 1895 time travel novel ''The ...
''. The school year 1886–87 was the last year of his studies.
During 1888, Wells stayed in Stoke-on-Trent, living in Basford. The unique environment of
The Potteries
The Staffordshire Potteries is the industrial area encompassing the six towns Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall, which is now the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. North Staffordshire became a centre of ...
was certainly an inspiration. He wrote in a letter to a friend from the area that "the district made an immense impression on me." The inspiration for some of his descriptions in ''The War of the Worlds'' is thought to have come from his short time spent here, seeing the iron foundry furnaces burn over the city, shooting huge red light into the skies. His stay in The Potteries also resulted in the macabre short story " The Cone" (1895, contemporaneous with his famous ''The Time Machine''), set in the north of the city.
After teaching for some time, he was briefly on the staff of Holt Academy in Wales – Wells found it necessary to supplement his knowledge relating to educational principles and methodology and entered the College of Preceptors (
College of Teachers
The Chartered College of Teaching is a learned society for the teaching profession in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1846, the college was incorporated by Queen Victoria into a royal charter as the College of Preceptors in 1849. A supplemental cha ...
). He later received his Licentiate and Fellowship FCP diplomas from the college. It was not until 1890 that Wells earned a Bachelor of Science degree in
zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...
from the
University of London External Programme
The University of London Worldwide (previously called the University of London International Academy) is the central academic body that manages external study programmes within the federal University of London. All courses are branded as simply ...
. In 1889–90, he managed to find a post as a teacher at Henley House School in London, where he taught
A. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...
(whose father ran the school). His first published work was a ''Text-Book of Biology'' in two volumes (1893).
Upon leaving the Normal School of Science, Wells was left without a source of income. His aunt Mary—his father's sister-in-law—invited him to stay with her for a while, which solved his immediate problem of accommodation. During his stay at his aunt's residence, he grew increasingly interested in her daughter, Isabel, whom he later courted. To earn money, he began writing short humorous articles for journals such as ''
The Pall Mall Gazette
''The Pall Mall Gazette'' was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood. In 1921, '' The Globe'' merged into ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', which itself was absorbed in ...
'', later collecting these in volume form as '' Select Conversations with an Uncle'' (1895) and '' Certain Personal Matters'' (1897). So prolific did Wells become at this mode of journalism that many of his early pieces remain unidentified. According to David C. Smith, "Most of Wells's occasional pieces have not been collected, and many have not even been identified as his. Wells did not automatically receive the byline his reputation demanded until after 1896 or so ... As a result, many of his early pieces are unknown. It is obvious that many early Wells items have been lost." His success with these shorter pieces encouraged him to write book-length work, and he published his first novel, ''
The Time Machine
''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...
'', in 1895.
Personal life
In 1891, Wells married his cousin Isabel Mary Wells (1865–1931; from 1902 Isabel Mary Smith). The couple agreed to separate in 1894, when he had fallen in love with one of his students, Amy Catherine Robbins (1872–1927; later known as Jane), with whom he moved to Woking, Surrey, in May 1895. They lived in a rented house, 'Lynton' (now No.141), Maybury Road, in the town centre for just under 18 months and married at St Pancras register office in October 1895. His short period in Woking was perhaps the most creative and productive of his whole writing career, for while there he planned and wrote ''
The War of the Worlds
''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...
'' and ''
The Time Machine
''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...
'', completed ''
The Island of Doctor Moreau
''The Island of Doctor Moreau'' is an 1896 science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells (1866–1946). The text of the novel is the narration of Edward Prendick who is a shipwrecked man rescued by a passing boat. He is left on the islan ...
When the Sleeper Wakes
''The Sleeper Awakes'' is a dystopian science fiction novel by English writer H. G. Wells, about a man who sleeps for two hundred and three years, waking up in a completely transformed London in which he has become the richest man in the worl ...
'' and '' Love and Mr Lewisham''.
In the run-up to the 143rd anniversary of Wells's birth,
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
published a cartoon riddle series with the solution being the coordinates of Woking's nearby Horsell Common—the location of the Martian landings in ''The War Of The Worlds''—described in newspaper article by
In late summer 1896, Wells and Jane moved to a larger house in
Worcester Park
Worcester Park is a suburban town in South West London, England. It lies in the London boroughs of Sutton and Kingston, and partly in the Surrey borough of Epsom and Ewell. The area is southwest of Charing Cross. The suburb's population was ...
, near
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable ...
, for two years; this lasted until his poor health took them to Sandgate, near Folkestone, where he constructed a large family home, Spade House, in 1901. He had two sons with Jane: George Philip (known as "Gip"; 1901–1985) and Frank Richard (1903–1982) (grandfather of film director
Simon Wells
Simon Finlay Wells (born 1961) is an English film director of animation and live-action films. He is the great-grandson of author H. G. Wells, and is best known for directing ''The Prince of Egypt'' with Brenda Chapman and Steve Hickner.
Ea ...
). Jane died on 6 October 1927, in Dunmow, at the age of 55, which left Wells devastated. She was cremated at
Golders Green
Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in England. A smaller suburban linear settlement, near a farm and public grazing area green of medieval origins, dates to the early 19th century. Its bulk forms a late 19th century and ea ...
, with friends of the couple present including
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
.
Wells had affairs with a significant number of women. Dorothy Richardson was a friend and they had a brief affair which led to a pregnancy and then miscarriage, in 1907. Wells was married to a former schoolmate of Richardson's. In December 1909, he had a daughter, Anna-Jane, with the writer
Amber Reeves
Amber Blanco White (' Reeves; 1 July 1887 – 26 December 1981) was a New Zealand-born British feminist writer and scholar.
Early life
Reeves was born in Christchurch, New Zealand,
the eldest of three children
of Fabian feminist Maud Pember Re ...
, whose parents,
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
and
Maud Pember Reeves
Maud Pember Reeves (24 December 1865 – 13 September 1953) (born Magdalene Stuart Robison) was a suffragist, socialist, feminist, writer and member of the Fabian Society. She spent most of her life in New Zealand and Britain.
Early life
Re ...
, he had met through the
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. T ...
. Amber had married the barrister G. R. Blanco White in July of that year, as co-arranged by Wells. After Beatrice Webb voiced disapproval of Wells's "sordid intrigue" with Amber, he responded by lampooning Beatrice Webb and her husband Sidney Webb in his 1911 novel ''The New Machiavelli'' as 'Altiora and Oscar Bailey', a pair of short-sighted, bourgeois manipulators. Between 1910 and 1913, novelist
Elizabeth von Arnim
Elizabeth von Arnim (31 August 1866 – 9 February 1941), born Mary Annette Beauchamp, was an English novelist. Born in Australia, she married a German aristocrat, and her earliest works are set in Germany. Her first marriage made her Countess v ...
was one of his mistresses. In 1914, he had a son, Anthony West (1914–1987), by the novelist and feminist
Rebecca West
Dame Cicily Isabel Fairfield (21 December 1892 – 15 March 1983), known as Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, was a British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. An author who wrote in many genres, West reviewed books ...
, 26 years his junior. In 1920–21, and intermittently until his death, he had a love affair with the American birth control activist Margaret Sanger.
Between 1924 and 1933 he partnered with the 22-year-younger Dutch adventurer and writer
Odette Keun
Odette Zoé Keun (Pera, 10 September 1888 – Worthing, 14 March 1978) was a Dutch socialist, journalist and writer, who traveled extensively in Europe, including the Caucasus and the early Soviet Union.
Early years
Keun was the daughter of ...
, with whom he lived in ''Lou Pidou'', a house they built together in
Grasse
Grasse (; Provençal oc, Grassa in classical norm or in Mistralian norm ; traditional it, Grassa) is the only subprefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region on the French Riviera. In 2017, the c ...
, France. Wells dedicated his longest book to her (''
The World of William Clissold
''The World of William Clissold'' is a 1926 novel by H. G. Wells published initially in three volumes. The first volume was published in September to coincide with Wells's sixtieth birthday, and the second and third volumes followed at monthly i ...
'', 1926). When visiting
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
in Russia 1920, he had slept with Gorky's mistress
Moura Budberg
Maria Ignatievna von Budberg-Bönninghausen (russian: Мария (Мура) Игнатьевна Закревская-Бенкендорф-Будберг, ''Maria (Moura) Ignatievna Zakrevskaya-Benckendorff-Budberg'', née Zakrevskaya; February ...
, then still Countess Benckendorf and 27 years his junior. In 1933, when she left Gorky and emigrated to London, their relationship renewed and she cared for him through his final illness. Wells repeatedly asked her to marry him, but Budberg strongly rejected his proposals.
In ''Experiment in Autobiography'' (1934), Wells wrote: "I was never a great amorist, though I have loved several people very deeply". David Lodge's novel ''A Man of Parts'' (2011)—a 'narrative based on factual sources' (author's note)—gives a convincing and generally sympathetic account of Wells's relations with the women mentioned above, and others.
Director
Simon Wells
Simon Finlay Wells (born 1961) is an English film director of animation and live-action films. He is the great-grandson of author H. G. Wells, and is best known for directing ''The Prince of Egypt'' with Brenda Chapman and Steve Hickner.
Ea ...
(born 1961), the author's great-grandson, was a consultant on the future scenes in ''
Back to the Future Part II
''Back to the Future Part II'' is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale and a story by both. It is the sequel to the 1985 film '' Back to the Future'' and the second installment in the ...
'' (1989).
Artist
One of the ways that Wells expressed himself was through his drawings and sketches. One common location for these was the endpapers and title pages of his own diaries, and they covered a wide variety of topics, from political commentary to his feelings toward his literary contemporaries and his current romantic interests. During his marriage to Amy Catherine, whom he nicknamed Jane, he drew a considerable number of pictures, many of them being overt comments on their marriage. During this period, he called these pictures "picshuas". These picshuas have been the topic of study by Wells scholars for many years, and in 2006, a book was published on the subject.
Writer
Some of his early novels, called "
scientific romance
Scientific romance is an archaic, mainly British term for the genre of fiction now commonly known as science fiction. The term originated in the 1850s to describe both fiction and elements of scientific writing, but it has since come to refer to ...
s", invented several themes now classic in science fiction in such works as ''
The Time Machine
''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...
'', ''
The Island of Doctor Moreau
''The Island of Doctor Moreau'' is an 1896 science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells (1866–1946). The text of the novel is the narration of Edward Prendick who is a shipwrecked man rescued by a passing boat. He is left on the islan ...
'', ''
The Invisible Man
''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devo ...
'', ''
The War of the Worlds
''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...
'', ''
When the Sleeper Wakes
''The Sleeper Awakes'' is a dystopian science fiction novel by English writer H. G. Wells, about a man who sleeps for two hundred and three years, waking up in a completely transformed London in which he has become the richest man in the worl ...
'', and ''
The First Men in the Moon
''The First Men in the Moon'' is a scientific romance by the English author H. G. Wells, originally serialised in '' The Strand Magazine'' from December 1900 to August 1901 and published in hardcover in 1901, who called it one of his "fantast ...
''. He also wrote realistic novels that received critical acclaim, including ''
Kipps
''Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul'' is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1905. It was reportedly Wells's own favourite among his works, and it has been adapted for stage, cinema and television productions, including the musical '' ...
'' and a critique of English culture during the
Edwardian period
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
, ''
Tono-Bungay
''Tono-Bungay'' is a realist semiautobiographical novel written by H. G. Wells and first published in book form in 1909. It has been called "arguably his most artistic book". It had been serialised before book publication, both in the United ...
''. Wells also wrote dozens of short stories and novellas, including, "The Flowering of the Strange Orchid", which helped bring the full impact of Darwin's revolutionary botanical ideas to a wider public, and was followed by many later successes such as " The Country of the Blind" (1904).
According to
James E. Gunn
James Edwin Gunn (July 12, 1923 – December 23, 2020) was an American science fiction writer, editor, scholar, and anthologist. His work as an editor of anthologies includes the six-volume ''The Road to Science Fiction, Road to Science Ficti ...
, one of Wells's major contributions to the science fiction genre was his approach, which he referred to as his "new system of ideas". In his opinion, the author should always strive to make the story as credible as possible, even if both the writer and the reader knew certain elements are impossible, allowing the reader to accept the ideas as something that could really happen, today referred to as "the plausible impossible" and " suspension of disbelief". While neither invisibility nor time travel was new in speculative fiction, Wells added a sense of realism to the concepts which the readers were not familiar with. He conceived the idea of using a vehicle that allows an operator to travel purposely and selectively forwards or backwards in time. The term "
time machine
Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
", coined by Wells, is now almost universally used to refer to such a vehicle. He explained that while writing ''The Time Machine'', he realized that "the more impossible the story I had to tell, the more ordinary must be the setting, and the circumstances in which I now set the Time Traveller were all that I could imagine of solid upper-class comforts." In "Wells's Law", a science fiction story should contain only a single extraordinary assumption. Therefore, as justifications for the impossible, he employed scientific ideas and theories. Wells's best-known statement of the "law" appears in his introduction to a collection of his works published in 1934:
As soon as the magic trick has been done the whole business of the fantasy writer is to keep everything else human and real. Touches of prosaic detail are imperative and a rigorous adherence to the hypothesis. Any extra fantasy outside the cardinal assumption immediately gives a touch of irresponsible silliness to the invention.
Dr. Griffin / The Invisible Man is a brilliant research scientist who discovers a method of invisibility, but finds himself unable to reverse the process. An enthusiast of random and irresponsible violence, Griffin has become an iconic character in
horror fiction
Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian ...
. ''The Island of Doctor Moreau'' sees a shipwrecked man left on the island home of Doctor Moreau, a
mad scientist
The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as " mad, bad and dangerous to know" or " insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabashedly a ...
who creates human-like hybrid beings from animals via vivisection. The earliest depiction of uplift, the novel deals with a number of philosophical themes, including pain and cruelty, moral responsibility, human identity, and human interference with nature. In ''The First Men in the Moon'' Wells used the idea of radio communication between astronomical objects, a plot point inspired by
The Wonderful Visit'' (1895) and a mermaid in '' The Sea Lady'' (1902).
Though ''Tono-Bungay'' is not a science-fiction novel, radioactive decay plays a small but consequential role in it. Radioactive decay plays a much larger role in ''
The World Set Free
''The World Set Free'' is a novel written in 1913 and published in 1914 by H. G. Wells. The book is based on a prediction of a more destructive and uncontrollable sort of weapon than the world has yet seen. It had appeared first in serialised ...
'' (1914), a book dedicated to
Frederick Soddy
Frederick Soddy FRS (2 September 1877 – 22 September 1956) was an English radiochemist who explained, with Ernest Rutherford, that radioactivity is due to the transmutation of elements, now known to involve nuclear reactions. He also prov ...
who would receive a Nobel for proving the existence of radioactive
isotope
Isotopes are two or more types of atoms that have the same atomic number (number of protons in their nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemical element), and that differ in nucleon numbers (mass numb ...
s. This book contains what is surely Wells's biggest prophetic "hit", with the first description of a
nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
(which he termed "atomic bombs"). Scientists of the day were well aware that the natural decay of
radium
Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rathe ...
releases energy at a slow rate over thousands of years. The ''rate'' of release is too slow to have practical utility, but the ''total amount'' released is huge. Wells's novel revolves around an (unspecified) invention that accelerates the process of radioactive decay, producing bombs that explode with no more than the force of ordinary high explosives—but which "continue to explode" for days on end. "Nothing could have been more obvious to the people of the earlier twentieth century, than the rapidity with which war was becoming impossible ... utthey did not see it until the atomic bombs burst in their fumbling hands". In 1932, the physicist and conceiver of nuclear chain reaction
Leó Szilárd
Leo Szilard (; hu, Szilárd Leó, pronounced ; born Leó Spitz; February 11, 1898 – May 30, 1964) was a Hungarian-German-American physicist and inventor. He conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, patented the idea of a nuclear ...
read ''The World Set Free'' (the same year Sir
James Chadwick
Sir James Chadwick, (20 October 1891 – 24 July 1974) was an English physicist who was awarded the 1935 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the neutron in 1932. In 1941, he wrote the final draft of the MAUD Report, which inspi ...
discovered the
neutron
The neutron is a subatomic particle, symbol or , which has a neutral (not positive or negative) charge, and a mass slightly greater than that of a proton. Protons and neutrons constitute the nuclei of atoms. Since protons and neutrons beh ...
), a book which he wrote in his memoirs had made "a very great impression on me." In 1934, Szilárd took his ideas for a chain reaction to the
British War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from th ...
and later the
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
, assigning his patent to the Admiralty to keep the news from reaching the notice of the wider scientific community. He wrote, "Knowing what this chain reactionwould mean—and I knew it because I had read H. G. Wells—I did not want this patent to become public."
Wells also wrote non-fiction. His first non-fiction bestseller was '' Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought'' (1901). When originally serialised in a magazine it was subtitled "An Experiment in Prophecy", and is considered his most explicitly
futuristic
The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...
work. It offered the immediate political message of the privileged sections of society continuing to bar capable men from other classes from advancement until war would force a need to employ those most able, rather than the traditional upper classes, as leaders. Anticipating what the world would be like in the year 2000, the book is interesting both for its hits (trains and cars resulting in the dispersion of populations from cities to suburbs; moral restrictions declining as men and women seek greater sexual freedom; the defeat of German
militarism
Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...
, and the existence of a European Union) and its misses (he did not expect successful
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...
before 1950, and averred that "my imagination refuses to see any sort of submarine doing anything but suffocate its crew and founder at sea").
His bestselling two-volume work, ''
The Outline of History
''The Outline of History'', subtitled either "The Whole Story of Man" or "Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind", is a work by H. G. Wells chronicling the history of the world from the origin of the Earth to the First World War. It appear ...
'' (1920), began a new era of popularised world history. It received a mixed critical response from professional historians. However, it was very popular amongst the general population and made Wells a rich man. Many other authors followed with "Outlines" of their own in other subjects. He reprised his ''Outline'' in 1922 with a much shorter popular work, '' A Short History of the World'', a history book praised by
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
, and two long efforts, ''
The Science of Life
''The Science of Life'' is a book written by H. G. Wells, Julian Huxley and G. P. Wells, published in three volumes by The Waverley Publishing Company Ltd in 1929–30, giving a popular account of all major aspects of biology as known in the 1 ...
The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind
''The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind'' by H. G. Wells is the final work of a trilogy of which the first volumes were ''The Outline of History'' (1919–1920) and '' The Science of Life'' (1929). Wells conceived of the three parts of his ...
'' (1931). The "Outlines" became sufficiently common for
James Thurber
James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected ...
to parody the trend in his humorous essay, "An Outline of Scientists"—indeed, Wells's ''Outline of History'' remains in print with a new 2005 edition, while ''A Short History of the World'' has been re-edited (2006).
From quite early in Wells's career, he sought a better way to organise society and wrote a number of
Utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...
n novels. The first of these was ''
A Modern Utopia
''A Modern Utopia'' is a 1905 novel by H. G. Wells.
Because of the complexity and sophistication of its narrative structure, ''A Modern Utopia'' has been called "not so much a modern as a postmodern utopia."Michael Sherborne, ''H.G. Wells: Anot ...
'' (1905), which shows a worldwide utopia with "no imports but meteorites, and no exports at all"; two travellers from our world fall into its alternate history. The others usually begin with the world rushing to catastrophe, until people realise a better way of living: whether by mysterious gases from a
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...
causing people to behave rationally and abandoning a European war ('' In the Days of the Comet'' (1906)), or a world council of scientists taking over, as in ''
The Shape of Things to Come
''The Shape of Things to Come'' is a work of science fiction by British writer H. G. Wells, published in 1933. It takes the form of a future history which ends in 2106.
Synopsis
A long economic slump causes a major war that leaves Europe dev ...
'' (1933, which he later adapted for the 1936
Alexander Korda
Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)Things to Come''). This depicted, all too accurately, the impending
World War
A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...
, with cities being destroyed by aerial bombs. He also portrayed the rise of fascist dictators in ''The Autocracy of Mr Parham'' (1930) and ''The Holy Terror'' (1939). '' Men Like Gods'' (1923) is also a utopian novel. Wells in this period was regarded as an enormously influential figure; the literary critic
Malcolm Cowley
Malcolm Cowley (August 24, 1898 – March 27, 1989) was an American writer, editor, historian, poet, and literary critic. His best known works include his first book of poetry, ''Blue Juniata'' (1929), his lyrical memoir, ''Exile's Return ...
stated: "by the time he was forty, his influence was wider than any other living English writer".
Wells contemplates the ideas of nature and nurture and questions humanity in books such as ''The First Men in the Moon'', where nature is completely suppressed by nurture, and ''The Island of Doctor Moreau'', where the strong presence of nature represents a threat to a civilized society. Not all his scientific romances ended in a Utopia, and Wells also wrote a dystopian novel, ''When the Sleeper Wakes'' (1899, rewritten as ''The Sleeper Awakes'', 1910), which pictures a future society where the classes have become more and more separated, leading to a revolt of the masses against the rulers. ''The Island of Doctor Moreau'' is even darker. The narrator, having been trapped on an island of animals vivisected (unsuccessfully) into human beings, eventually returns to England; like
Gulliver
Gulliver may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Arts and entertainment
* Lemuel Gulliver, the protagonist of Jonathan Swift's novel ''Gulliver's Travels''
*the title character of ''Brian Gulliver's Travels'', a satirical BBC radio series
*Gary Gulliver, the t ...
on his return from the
Houyhnhnm
Houyhnhnms are a fictional race of intelligent horses described in the last part of Jonathan Swift's satirical 1726 novel ''Gulliver's Travels''. The name is pronounced either or . Swift apparently intended all words of the Houyhnhnm language ...
s, he finds himself unable to shake off the perceptions of his fellow humans as barely civilised beasts, slowly reverting to their animal natures.Wells, H. G. (2005). ''The Island of Dr Moreau''. "Fear and Trembling". Penguin UK.
Wells also wrote the preface for the first edition of W. N. P. Barbellion's diaries, ''The Journal of a Disappointed Man'', published in 1919. Since "Barbellion" was the real author's pen name, many reviewers believed Wells to have been the true author of the ''Journal''; Wells always denied this, despite being full of praise for the diaries.
In 1927, a Canadian teacher and writer Florence Deeks unsuccessfully sued Wells for infringement of copyright and breach of trust, claiming that much of ''The Outline of History'' had been plagiarised from her unpublished manuscript, ''The Web of the World's Romance'', which had spent nearly nine months in the hands of Wells's Canadian publisher, Macmillan Canada. However, it was sworn on oath at the trial that the manuscript remained in Toronto in the safekeeping of Macmillan, and that Wells did not even know it existed, let alone seen it. The court found no proof of copying, and decided the similarities were due to the fact that the books had similar nature and both writers had access to the same sources. In 2000, A. B. McKillop, a professor of history at Carleton University, produced a book on the case, ''The Spinster & The Prophet: Florence Deeks, H. G. Wells, and the Mystery of the Purloined Past''. According to McKillop, the lawsuit was unsuccessful due to the prejudice against a woman suing a well-known and famous male author, and he paints a detailed story based on the circumstantial evidence of the case. In 2004, Denis N. Magnusson, Professor Emeritus of the Faculty of Law, Queen's University, Ontario, published an article on ''Deeks v. Wells''. This re-examines the case in relation to McKillop's book. While having some sympathy for Deeks, he argues that she had a weak case that was not well presented, and though she may have met with
sexism
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers pri ...
from her lawyers, she received a fair trial, adding that the law applied is essentially the same law that would be applied to a similar case today (i.e., 2004).
In 1933, Wells predicted in ''The Shape of Things to Come'' that the world war he feared would begin in January 1940, a prediction which ultimately came true four months early, in September 1939, with the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. In 1936, before the Royal Institution, Wells called for the compilation of a constantly growing and changing World
Encyclopaedia
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
, to be reviewed by outstanding authorities and made accessible to every human being. In 1938, he published a collection of essays on the future organisation of knowledge and education, ''
World Brain
''World Brain'' is a collection of essays and addresses by the English science fiction pioneer, social reformer, evolutionary biologist and historian H. G. Wells, dating from the period of 1936–1938.Wells, H.G. (1938). ''World Brain''. Lond ...
'', including the essay "The Idea of a Permanent World Encyclopaedia".
Prior to 1933, Wells's books were widely read in Germany and Austria, and most of his science fiction works had been translated shortly after publication. By 1933, he had attracted the attention of German officials because of his criticism of the political situation in Germany, and on 10 May 1933, Wells's books were burned by the Nazi youth in Berlin's
Opernplatz
The Opernplatz (Opera Square) is a central city square in Frankfurt, Germany, located in the district of Innenstadt (Inner City) and within the central business district known as the Bankenviertel (Banking District). The Opernplatz is the most ...
, and his works were banned from libraries and book stores.Patrick Parrinder and John S. Partington (2005). ''The Reception of H. G. Wells in Europe''. pp. 106–108. Bloomsbury Publishing. Wells, as president of
PEN International
PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internatio ...
(Poets, Essayists, Novelists), angered the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
by overseeing the expulsion of the German PEN club from the international body in 1934 following the German PEN's refusal to admit non- Aryan writers to its membership. At a PEN conference in Ragusa, Wells refused to yield to Nazi sympathisers who demanded that the exiled author
Ernst Toller
Ernst Toller (1 December 1893 – 22 May 1939) was a German author, playwright, left-wing politician and revolutionary, known for his Expressionist plays. He served in 1919 for six days as President of the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic, ...
be prevented from speaking. Near the end of World War II, Allied forces discovered that the SS had compiled lists of people slated for immediate arrest during the invasion of Britain in the abandoned
Operation Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (german: Unternehmen Seelöwe), was Nazi Germany's code name for the plan for an invasion of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. Following the Battle o ...
, with Wells included in the alphabetical list of " The Black Book".
Wartime works
Seeking a more structured way to play war games, Wells wrote ''
Floor Games
''Floor Games'' is a book published in 1911 by H. G. Wells. This light-hearted volume argues in a humorously dictatorial tone that "The jolliest indoor games for boys and girls demand a floor." Illustrated with photographs and drawings, it brief ...
'' (1911) followed by ''
Little Wars
''Little Wars'' is a set of rules for playing with toy soldiers, written by English novelist H. G. Wells in 1913. The book, which had a full title of ''Little Wars: a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for t ...
'' (1913), which set out rules for fighting battles with
toy soldier
A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, American Indians, pirates, samurai, and other subjects that involve ...
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Wells stated "how much better is this amiable miniature arthan the real thing". According to Wells, the idea of the game developed from a visit by his friend
Jerome K. Jerome
Jerome Klapka Jerome (2 May 1859 – 14 June 1927) was an English writer and humourist, best known for the comic travelogue ''Three Men in a Boat'' (1889). Other works include the essay collections '' Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow'' (1886) an ...
. After dinner, Jerome began shooting down toy soldiers with a toy cannon and Wells joined in to compete.
During August 1914, immediately after the outbreak of the First World War, Wells published a number of articles in London newspapers that subsequently appeared as a book entitled ''The War That Will End War''. He coined the expression with the idealistic belief that the result of the war would make a future conflict impossible. Wells blamed the
Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
for the coming of the war and argued that only the defeat of German
militarism
Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...
could bring about an end to war. Wells used the shorter form of the phrase, "
the war to end war
"The war to end war" (also "The war to end all wars"; originally from the 1914 book '' The War That Will End War'' by H. G. Wells) is a term for the First World War of 1914–1918. Originally an idealistic slogan, it is now mainly used sardonic ...
", in ''In the Fourth Year'' (1918), in which he noted that the phrase "got into circulation" in the second half of 1914. In fact, it had become one of the most common
catchphrase
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
s of the war.
In 1918 Wells worked for the British
War Propaganda Bureau Wellington House is the more common name for Britain's War Propaganda Bureau, which operated during the First World War from Wellington House, a building on Buckingham Gate, London, which was the headquarters of the National Insurance Commission b ...
, also called Wellington House. Wells was also one of fifty-three leading British authors — a number that included
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
, Thomas Hardy and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle — who signed their names to the "Authors' Declaration." This manifesto declared that the German invasion of Belgium had been a brutal crime, and that Britain "could not without dishonour have refused to take part in the present war."
Travels to Russia and the Soviet Union
Wells visited Russia three times: 1914, 1920 and 1934. After his visit to Petrograd and
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
, in January 1914, he returned "a staunch Russophile". He revealed his impressions in "Russia and England: A Study on Contrasts" in '' The Daily News'', on 1 February 1941 and in the novel ''
Joan and Peter
''Joan and Peter'', a 1918 novel by H. G. Wells, is at once a satirical portrait of late-Victorian era, Victorian and Edwardian era, Edwardian England, a critique of the English educational system on the eve of World War I, a study of the impact ...
'' (1918). During his second visit, he saw his old friend
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
and with Gorky's help, met
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
. In his book '' Russia in the Shadows'', Wells portrayed Russia as recovering from a total social collapse, "the completest that has ever happened to any modern social organisation." On 23 July 1934, after visiting U.S. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, Wells went to the Soviet Union and interviewed
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
for three hours for the ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...
'' magazine, which was extremely rare at that time. He told Stalin how he had seen 'the happy faces of healthy people' in contrast with his previous visit to Moscow in 1920. However, he also criticised the lawlessness, class discrimination, state violence, and absence of
free expression
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...
. Stalin enjoyed the conversation and replied accordingly. As the chairman of the London-based
PEN International
PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internatio ...
, which protected the rights of authors to write without being intimidated, Wells hoped by his trip to USSR, he could win Stalin over by force of argument. Before he left, he realised that no reform was to happen in the near future.
Final years
Wells's greatest literary output occurred before the First World War, which was lamented by younger authors whom he had influenced. In this connection, George Orwell described Wells as "too sane to understand the modern world", and "since 1920 he has squandered his talents in slaying paper dragons." G. K. Chesterton quipped: "Mr Wells is a born storyteller who has sold his birthright for a pot of message".
Wells had
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
, and was a co-founder in 1934 of The Diabetic Association (now
Diabetes UK
Diabetes UK is a British-based patient, healthcare professional and research charity that has been described as "one of the foremost diabetes charities in the UK". The charity campaigns for improvements in the care and treatment of people with d ...
, the leading charity for people with diabetes in the UK).
On 28 October 1940, on the radio station
KTSA
KTSA (550 AM "107.1 and 550 KTSA") is a commercial radio station in San Antonio, Texas. KTSA is owned by Alpha Media and airs a talk radio format. The studios, offices and three-tower transmitter are on Eisenhauer Road in San Antonio.
Most h ...
in
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, Wells took part in a radio interview with
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
, who two years previously had performed a famous radio adaptation of ''The War of the Worlds''. During the interview, by Charles C Shaw, a KTSA radio host, Wells admitted his surprise at the sensation that resulted from the broadcast but acknowledged his debt to Welles for increasing sales of one of his "more obscure" titles.
Death
Wells died of unspecified causes on 13 August 1946, aged 79, at his home at 13 Hanover Terrace, overlooking
Regent's Park
Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...
, London. In his preface to the 1941 edition of ''
The War in the Air
''The War in the Air: And Particularly How Mr. Bert Smallways Fared While It Lasted'' is a military science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells.
The novel was written in four months in 1907, and was serialized and published in 1908 in ''Th ...
'', Wells had stated that his
epitaph
An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
should be: "I told you so. You ''damned'' fools". Wells's body was cremated at
Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...
on 16 August 1946; his ashes were subsequently scattered into the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
at
Old Harry Rocks
Old Harry Rocks are three chalk formations, including a Stack (geology), stack and a stump, located at Handfast Point, on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, southern England. They mark the most eastern point of the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World H ...
, the most eastern point of the
Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about , and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in mid-Decembe ...
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
futurist
Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abo ...
and "visionary", Wells foresaw the advent of
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...
,
tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...
nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
s,
satellite television
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...
, and something resembling the
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet.
Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web ...
. Asserting that "Wells's visions of the future remain unsurpassed",
John Higgs
John Higgs is an English writer, novelist, journalist and cultural historian. The work of Higgs has been published in the form of novels (under the pseudonym JMR Higgs), biographies and works of cultural history.
In particular, Higgs has writt ...
, author of ''Stranger Than We Can Imagine: Making Sense of the Twentieth Century'', states that in the late 19th century Wells "saw the coming century clearer than anyone else. He anticipated wars in the air, the sexual revolution, motorised transport causing the growth of suburbs and a proto-Wikipedia he called the "
world brain
''World Brain'' is a collection of essays and addresses by the English science fiction pioneer, social reformer, evolutionary biologist and historian H. G. Wells, dating from the period of 1936–1938.Wells, H.G. (1938). ''World Brain''. Lond ...
". In his novel ''The World Set Free'', he imagined an "atomic bomb" of terrifying power that would be dropped from aeroplanes. This was an extraordinary insight for an author writing in 1913, and it made a deep impression on Winston Churchill."
In 2011, Wells was among a group of science fiction writers featured in the '' Prophets of Science Fiction'' series, a show produced and hosted by film director Sir Ridley Scott, which depicts how predictions influenced the development of scientific advancements by inspiring many readers to assist in transforming those futuristic visions into everyday reality. In a 2013 review of ''The Time Machine'' for the ''New Yorker'' magazine,
Brad Leithauser
Brad E. Leithauser (born February 27, 1953) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, and teacher. After serving as the Emily Dickinson Lecturer in the Humanities at Mount Holyoke College and visiting professor at the MFA Program for Poets & Writ ...
writes, "At the base of Wells's great visionary exploit is this rational, ultimately scientific attempt to tease out the potential future consequences of present conditions—not as they might arise in a few years, or even decades, but millennia hence, epochs hence. He is world literature's Great Extrapolator. Like no other fiction writer before him, he embraced " deep time".
Political views
Wells was a
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
and a member of the
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. T ...
.
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
was an avid reader of Wells's books, and after they first met in 1902 they kept in touch until Wells died in 1946. As a junior minister Churchill borrowed lines from Wells for one of his most famous early landmark speeches in 1906, and as Prime Minister the phrase " the gathering storm"—used by Churchill to describe the rise of Nazi Germany—had been written by Wells in ''The War of the Worlds'', which depicts an attack on Britain by Martians. Wells's extensive writings on equality and human rights, most notably his most influential work, ''The Rights of Man'' (1940), laid the groundwork for the 1948
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, ...
, which was adopted by the United Nations shortly after his death.
His efforts regarding the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
, on which he collaborated on the project with
Leonard Woolf
Leonard Sidney Woolf (; – ) was a British political theorist, author, publisher, and civil servant. He was married to author Virginia Woolf. As a member of the Labour Party and the Fabian Society, Woolf was an avid publisher of his own wo ...
with the booklets ''The Idea of a League of Nations'', ''Prolegomena to the Study of World Organization'', and ''The Way of the League of Nations'', became a disappointment as the organization turned out to be a weak one unable to prevent the Second World War, which itself occurred towards the very end of his life and only increased the pessimistic side of his nature. In his last book '' Mind at the End of Its Tether'' (1945), he considered the idea that humanity being replaced by another species might not be a bad idea. He referred to the era between the two World Wars as "The Age of Frustration".
Religious views
Wells's views on God and religion changed over his lifetime. Early in his life he distanced himself from Christianity, and later from
theism
Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of a supreme being or deities. In common parlance, or when contrasted with '' deism'', the term often describes the classical conception of God that is found in monotheism (also referred ...
, and finally, late in life, he was essentially atheistic.
Martin Gardner
Martin Gardner (October 21, 1914May 22, 2010) was an American popular mathematics and popular science writer with interests also encompassing scientific skepticism, micromagic, philosophy, religion, and literatureespecially the writings of Lew ...
summarises this progression:
he younger Wells... did not object to using the word "God" provided it did not imply anything resembling human personality. In his middle years Wells went through a phase of defending the concept of a "finite God," similar to the god of such process theologians as
Samuel Alexander
Samuel Alexander (6 January 1859 – 13 September 1938) was an Australian-born British philosopher. He was the first Jewish fellow of an Oxbridge college.
Early life
Alexander was born at 436 George Street, in what is now the com ...
, Edgar Brightman, and Charles Hartshorne. (He even wrote a book about it called ''God the Invisible King''.) Later Wells decided he was really an atheist.
In ''God the Invisible King'' (1917), Wells wrote that his idea of God did not draw upon the traditional religions of the world:
This book sets out as forcibly and exactly as possible the religious belief of the writer. [Which] is a profound belief in a personal and intimate God. ... Putting the leading idea of this book very roughly, these two antagonistic typical conceptions of God may be best contrasted by speaking of one of them as God-as-Nature or the Creator, and of the other as God-as-Christ or the Redeemer. One is the great Outward God; the other is the Inmost God. The first idea was perhaps developed most highly and completely in the God of Spinoza. It is a conception of God tending to pantheism, to an idea of a comprehensive God as ruling with justice rather than affection, to a conception of aloofness and awestriking worshipfulness. The second idea, which is contradictory to this idea of an absolute God, is the God of the human heart. The writer suggested that the great outline of the theological struggles of that phase of civilisation and world unity which produced Christianity, was a persistent but unsuccessful attempt to get these two different ideas of God into one focus.
Later in the work, he aligns himself with a "renascent or modern religion ... neither atheist nor Buddhist nor Mohammedan nor Christian ... [that] he has found growing up in himself".
Of Christianity, he said: "it is not now true for me. ... Every believing Christian is, I am sure, my spiritual brother ... but if systemically I called myself a Christian I feel that to most men I should imply too much and so tell a lie". Of other world religions, he writes: "All these religions are true for me as Canterbury Cathedral is a true thing and as a Swiss chalet is a true thing. There they are, and they have served a purpose, they have worked. Only they are not true for me to live in them. ... They do not work for me". In ''The Fate of Homo Sapiens'' (1939), Wells criticised almost all world religions and philosophies, stating "there is no creed, no way of living left in the world at all, that really meets the needs of the time... When we come to look at them coolly and dispassionately, all the main religions, patriotic, moral and customary systems in which human beings are sheltering today, appear to be in a state of jostling and mutually destructive movement, like the houses and palaces and other buildings of some vast, sprawling city overtaken by a landslide."
Wells's opposition to organised religion reached a fever pitch in 1943 with publication of his book ''Crux Ansata'', subtitled "An Indictment of the Roman Catholic Church".
Literary influence and legacy
The science fiction historian John Clute describes Wells as "the most important writer the genre has yet seen", and notes his work has been central to both British and American science fiction.John Clute, ''Science Fiction :The Illustrated Encyclopedia''. Dorling Kindersley London, (p. 114–15). Science fiction author and critic Algis Budrys said Wells "remains the outstanding expositor of both the hope, and the despair, which are embodied in the technology and which are the major facts of life in our world". He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1921, 1932, 1935, and 1946."Nomination Database: Herbert G Wells" Nobel Prize.org. Retrieved 19 March 2015. Wells so influenced real exploration of space that an impact crater on Mars (H. G. Wells (crater), and the Moon) was named after him.
In the United Kingdom, Wells's work was a key model for the British "scientific romance", and other writers in that mode, such as Olaf Stapledon, J. D. Beresford,Richard Bleiler, "John Davis Beresford (1873–1947)" in Darren Harris-Fain, ed. ''British Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers Before World War I''. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1997. pp. 27–34. . S. Fowler Wright, and Naomi Mitchison, all drew on Wells's example. Wells was also an important influence on British science fiction of the period after the Second World War, with Arthur C. Clarke and
Brian Aldiss
Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist, and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for o ...
expressing strong admiration for Wells's work. A self-declared fan of Wells, John Wyndham, author of ''The Day of the Triffids'' and ''The Midwich Cuckoos'', echoes Wells's obsession with catastrophe and its aftermath. His early work (pre 1920) made Wells the literary hero of dystopian novelist George Orwell. Among contemporary British science fiction writers, Stephen Baxter (author), Stephen Baxter, Christopher Priest (novelist), Christopher Priest and Adam Roberts (British writer), Adam Roberts have all acknowledged Wells's influence on their writing; all three are vice-presidents of the H. G. Wells Society. He also had a strong influence on British scientist J. B. S. Haldane, who wrote ''Daedalus; or, Science and the Future'' (1924), "The Last Judgement" and "On Being the Right Size" from the essay collection ''Possible Worlds'' (1927), and ''Biological Possibilities for the Human Species in the Next Ten Thousand Years'' (1963), which are speculations about the future of human evolution and life on other planets. Haldane gave several lectures about these topics which in turn influenced other science fiction writers.
In the United States, Hugo Gernsback reprinted most of Wells's work in the pulp magazine ''Amazing Stories'', regarding Wells's work as "texts of central importance to the self-conscious new genre". Later American writers such as Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Carl Sagan, and Ursula K. Le GuinJohn Huntington, "Utopian and Anti-Utopian Logic: H. G. Wells and his Successors". ''Science Fiction Studies'', July 1982. all recalled being influenced by Wells.
Sinclair Lewis's early novels were strongly influenced by Wells's realistic social novels, such as ''
The History of Mr Polly
''The History of Mr. Polly'' is a 1910 comic novel by H. G. Wells.
Plot summary
The protagonist of ''The History of Mr. Polly'' is an antihero inspired by H. G. Wells's early experiences in the drapery trade: Alfred Polly, born circa ...
''; Lewis also named his first son Wells after the author. Lewis nominated H. G. Wells for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1932.
In an interview with ''The Paris Review'', Vladimir Nabokov described Wells as his favourite writer when he was a boy and "a great artist." He went on to cite ''The Passionate Friends'', ''Ann Veronica'', ''The Time Machine'', and '' The Country of the Blind'' as superior to anything else written by Wells's British contemporaries. Nabokov said: "His sociological cogitations can be safely ignored, of course, but his romances and fantasies are superb."
Jorge Luis Borges wrote many short pieces on Wells in which he demonstrates a deep familiarity with much of Wells's work. While Borges wrote several critical reviews, including a mostly negative review of Wells's film ''Things to Come'', he regularly treated Wells as a canonical figure of fantastic literature. Late in his life, Borges included ''The Invisible Man'' and ''The Time Machine'' in his ''Prologue to a Personal Library'', a curated list of 100 great works of literature that he undertook at the behest of the Argentine publishing house Emecé Editores, Emecé. Canadian author Margaret Atwood read Wells's books, and he also inspired writers of European speculative fiction such as Karel Čapek and Yevgeny Zamyatin.
In 2021, Wells was one of six British writers commemorated on a Great Britain commemorative stamps 2020–2029#2021, series of UK postage stamps issued by Royal Mail to celebrate British science fiction. Six classic science fiction novels were depicted, one from each author, with ''The Time Machine'' chosen to represent Wells.
Representations
Literary
* The superhuman protagonist of J. D. Beresford's 1911 novel, ''The Hampdenshire Wonder'', Victor Stott, was based on Wells.
* In M. P. Shiel's short story "The Primate of the Rose" (1928), there is an unpleasant womaniser named E. P. Crooks, who was written as a parody of Wells.George Hay, "Shiel Versus the Renegade Romantic", in A. Reynolds Morse, ''Shiel in Diverse Hands: A Collection of Essays''. Cleveland, OH: Reynolds Morse Foundation, 1983. pp. 109–113. Wells had attacked Shiel's ''Prince Zaleski'' when it was published in 1895, and this was Shiel's response. Wells praised Shiel's ''The Purple Cloud'' (1901); in turn Shiel expressed admiration for Wells, referring to him at a speech to the Horsham Rotary Club in 1933 as "my friend Mr. Wells".
* In C. S. Lewis's novel ''That Hideous Strength'' (1945), the character Jules is a caricature of Wells, and much of Lewis's science fiction was written both under the influence of Wells and as an antithesis to his work (or, as he put it, an "exorcism" of the influence it had on him).
* In
Brian Aldiss
Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist, and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for o ...
's novella ''The Saliva Tree'' (1966), Wells has a small off-screen guest role.
* In Saul Bellow's novel ''Mr. Sammler's Planet'' (1970), Wells is one of several historical figures the protagonist met when he was a young man.
* In ''The Dancers at the End of Time'' by Michael Moorcock (1976) Wells has an important part.
* In ''The Map of Time'' (2008) by Spanish author Félix J. Palma; Wells is one of several historical characters.
* Wells is one of the two Georges in Paul Levinson's 2013 time-travel novelette, "Ian, George, and George," published in ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Analog'' magazine.
Dramatic
* Rod Taylor portrays Wells in the 1960 science fiction film ''The Time Machine (1960 film), The Time Machine'' (based on the novel of the same name), in which Wells uses his time machine to try to find his Utopian society.
* Malcolm McDowell portrays Wells in the 1979 science fiction film ''Time After Time (1979 film), Time After Time'', in which Wells uses a time machine to pursue Jack the Ripper to the present day. In the film, Wells meets "Amy" in the future who then returns to 1893 to become his second wife Amy Catherine Robbins.
* Wells is portrayed in the 1985 story ''Timelash'' from the Doctor Who (season 22), 22nd season of the BBC science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. In this story, Herbert, an enthusiastic temporary companion to the Doctor, is revealed to be a young H. G. Wells. The plot is loosely based upon the themes and characters of ''
The Time Machine
''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...
'' with references to ''
The War of the Worlds
''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...
'', ''
The Invisible Man
''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devo ...
'' and ''
The Island of Doctor Moreau
''The Island of Doctor Moreau'' is an 1896 science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells (1866–1946). The text of the novel is the narration of Edward Prendick who is a shipwrecked man rescued by a passing boat. He is left on the islan ...
''. The story jokingly suggests that Wells's inspiration for his later novels came from his adventure with the Sixth Doctor.
* In the BBC2 anthology series ''Encounters'' about imagined meetings between historical figures, ''Beautiful Lies'', by Paul Pender (15 August 1992) centred on an acrimonious dinner party attended by Wells (Richard Todd), George Orwell (Jon Finch), and William Empson (Patrick Ryecart).
* The character of Wells also appeared in several episodes of ''Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' (1993–1997), usually pitted against the time-travelling villain known as Tempus (Lane Davies). Wells's younger self was played by Terry Kiser, and the older Wells was played by Hamilton Camp.
* In the British TV mini-series ''The Infinite Worlds of H. G. Wells'' (2001), several of Wells's short stories are dramatised but are adapted using Wells himself (Tom Ward) as the main protagonist in each story.
* In the Disney Channel Original Series ''Phil of the Future'', which centres on time-travel, the present-day high school that the main characters attend is named "H. G. Wells".
* In the 2006 television docudrama ''H. G. Wells: War with the World'', Wells is played by Michael Sheen.
* Television episode "World's End" of Cold Case (2007) is about how the discovery of human remains in the bottom of a well leads to the reinvestigation of the case of a housewife who went missing during Orson Welles' radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds".
* On the science fiction television series ''Warehouse 13'' (2009–2014), there is a female version Helena G. Wells. When she appeared she explained that her brother was her front for her writing because a female science fiction author would not be accepted.
* Comedian Paul F. Tompkins portrays a fictional Wells as the host of ''The Dead Authors Podcast'', wherein Wells uses his time machine to bring dead authors (played by other comedians) to the present and interview them.
* H. G. Wells as a young boy appears in the ''Legends of Tomorrow'' episode "The Magnificent Eight". In this story, the boy Wells is dying of tuberculosis, consumption but is cured by a time-travelling Firestorm (character), Martin Stein.
* In the four part series ''The Nightmare Worlds of H. G. Wells'' (2016), Wells is played by Ray Winstone.
* In the 2017 television series version of ''Time After Time (TV series), Time After Time'', based on Time After Time (1979 film), the 1979 film, H. G. Wells is portrayed by Freddie Stroma.
* In the 2019 television adaptation of ''The War of the Worlds (British TV series), The War of the Worlds'', the character of 'George', played by Rafe Spall, demonstrates a number of elements of Wells's own life, including his estrangement from his wife and unmarried co-habitation with the character of 'Amy'.
* Wells is played by Nick Cave in the 2021 film ''The Electrical Life of Louis Wain''.
Film adaptations
The novels and short stories of H. G. Wells have been adapted for cinema. These include ''Island of Lost Souls (1932 film), Island of Lost Souls'' (1932), ''The Invisible Man (1933 film), The Invisible Man'' (1933), '' Things to Come'' (1936), ''The Man Who Could Work Miracles'' (1937), ''The War of the Worlds (1953 film), The War of the Worlds'' (1953), ''The Time Machine (1960 film), The Time Machine'' (1960), ''First Men in the Moon (1964 film), First Men in the Moon'' (1964), ''The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996 film), The Island of Dr. Moreau'' (1996), ''The Time Machine (2002 film), The Time Machine'' (2002) and ''War of the Worlds (2005 film), War of the Worlds'' (2005).
Literary papers
In 1954, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign purchased the H. G. Wells literary papers and correspondence collection."H. G. Wells papers, 1845–1946 , University of Illinois Rare Book & Manuscript Library" University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. The university's The Rare Book & Manuscript Library (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Rare Book & Manuscript Library holds the largest collection of Wells manuscripts, correspondence, first editions and publications in the United States."H. G. Wells Correspondence" Library Illinois. Among these is unpublished material and the manuscripts of such works as ''The War of the Worlds'' and ''The Time Machine''. The collection includes first editions, revisions and translations. The letters contain general family correspondence, communications from publishers, material regarding the Fabian Society, and letters from politicians and public figures, most notably
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
*
* Cole, Sarah. ''Inventing Tomorrow: H. G. Wells and the Twentieth Century.''New York, Columbia University Press, 2021
* Lovat Dickson, Dickson, Lovat. ''H. G. Wells: His Turbulent Life & Times''. 1969.
*
* Michael Foot, Foot, Michael. ''H. G.: History of Mr. Wells''. Doubleday, 1985 (), Black Swan, New edition, Oct 1996 (paperback, )
* Gilmour, David. ''The Long Recessional: The Imperial Life of Rudyard Kipling''. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002 (paperback, ); 2003 (paperback, ).
*
* Arnold Wycombe Gomme, Gomme, A. W., ''Mr. Wells as Historian''. Glasgow: MacLehose, Jackson, and Co., 1921.
* Gosling, John. ''Waging the War of the Worlds''. Jefferson, North Carolina, McFarland, 2009 (paperback, ).
*
* Maya Jasanoff, Jasanoff, Maya, "The Future Was His" (review of Sarah Cole, ''Inventing Tomorrow: H.G. Wells and the Twentieth Century'', Columbia University Press, 374 pp.), ''The New York Review of Books'', vol. LXVII, no. 12 (23 July 2020), pp. 50–51. Writes Jasanoff (p. 51): "Although [Wells] was prophetically right, and right-minded, about some things... [n]owhere was he more disturbingly wrong than in his loathsome affinity for eugenics..."
* Lynn, Andrea ''The secret love life of H.G. Wells''
* Mackenzie, Norman and Jean, ''The Time Traveller: the Life of H G Wells'', London: Weidenfeld, 1973,
* Mauthner, Martin. ''German Writers in French Exile, 1933–1940'', London: Vallentine and Mitchell, 2007, .
* McLean, Steven. 'The Early Fiction of H. G. Wells: Fantasies of Science'. Palgrave, 2009, .
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* Partington, John S. ''Building Cosmopolis: The Political Thought of H. G. Wells''. Ashgate, 2003, .
*Roberts, Adam. ''H G Wells A Literary Life.'' Springer International Publishing, 2019, ISBN 978-3-03-026421-5.
* Roukema, Aren. 2021. “The Esoteric Roots of Science Fiction: Edward Bulwer-Lytton, H.G. Wells, and the Occlusion of Magic.” ''Science Fiction Studies'' 48 (2): 218–42.
* Shadurski, Maxim. ''The Nationality of Utopia: H. G. Wells, England, and the World State''. London: Routledge, 2020, .
* Sherborne, Michael. ''H. G. Wells: Another Kind of Life''. London: Peter Owen, 2010, .
* Smith, David C., ''H. G. Wells: Desperately Mortal: A Biography''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986,
* Anthony West (author), West, Anthony. ''H. G. Wells: Aspects of a Life''. London: Hutchinson, 1984.
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...
'' – "The great author called for a Human Rights Act; 60 years later, we have it" (2000)
"Stephen Crane. From an English Standpoint" by Wells, 1900.
Rabindranath Tagore and Wells conversing in Geneva in 1930.
"Introduction" to W. N. P. Barbellion's ''The Journal of a Disappointed Man'', by Wells, 1919.
by Wells, 1895.
to M. P. Shiel, by Wells, 1937.
Biography
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"H. G. Wells" In ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Online.
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Martin Gardner
Martin Gardner (October 21, 1914May 22, 2010) was an American popular mathematics and popular science writer with interests also encompassing scientific skepticism, micromagic, philosophy, religion, and literatureespecially the writings of Lew ...
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
, at the ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...
''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, H. G.
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