The Plattner Story and Others
''The Plattner Story and Others'' is a collection of seventeen short stories written by H. G. Wells. This volume was first published in March 1897 by Methuen & Co.
Stories collected
*"The Plattner Story" ('' New Review'', April 1896)
*"The Arg ...
'', published by Methuen & Co. in 1897.
Written several years before the first flight of the Wright brothers, it describes the painstaking development of a flying machine, in the face of public amusement, and its unsuccessful trial flight over London.
Wells lived at one time in
Worcester Park
Worcester Park is a suburban town in South London, South West London, England. It lies in the Boroughs of London, London boroughs of London Borough of Sutton, Sutton and Royal Borough of Kingston, Kingston, and partly in the Surrey borough of Ep ...
, where the machine is launched; he studied at 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 ...
, where it crashes.
H. G. Wells Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed 15 August 2015.
Story summary
For several years, Monson has used his wealth on a project to build a flying machine. The apparatus for launching it, "a massive alley of interlacing iron and timber", has become a notable landmark for people passing through
Worcester Park
Worcester Park is a suburban town in South London, South West London, England. It lies in the Boroughs of London, London boroughs of London Borough of Sutton, Sutton and Royal Borough of Kingston, Kingston, and partly in the Surrey borough of Ep ...
in south-west London, and sometimes they see a machine rush along the rails of the apparatus, as the latest version of the flying machine is tested.
Monson's money is running out, and he is impatient with the time taken to put the latest modifications into effect. He is annoyed with the attitude of the public, who regard with amusement and indifference what is actually a painstaking and well-researched project, based on the work of
Hiram Maxim
Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (5 February 1840 – 24 November 1916) was an American-British inventor best known as the creator of the first automatic machine gun, the Maxim gun. Maxim held patents on numerous mechanical devices such as hair-curl ...
and
Otto Lilienthal
Karl Wilhelm Otto Lilienthal (23 May 1848 – 10 August 1896) was a German pioneer of aviation who became known as the "flying man". He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful flights with gliders, therefore making ...
. In particular he is annoyed by the remarks of a pretty young lady:
'How are you getting on with your flying-machine?' she asked. ('I wonder if I shall ever meet anyone with the sense not to ask that,' thought Monson.) 'It will be very dangerous at first, will it not?' ('Thinks I'm afraid.').... 'You must let me know when your flying-machine is finished, Mr. Monson, and then I will consider the advisability of taking a ticket.'
('One would think I was still playing inventions in the nursery.')
Monson and his engineer Woodhouse agree to try a flight. They know they will not be able to manage their flight instinctively, as a bird would do.
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
,
Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill is a Grade II listed public park located north of Regent's Park in London, England, first opened to the public in 1842.Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) It was named after the natural hill in the centre of ...
and
Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, are among the Royal Parks of London. The gardens are shared by the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and sit immediately to the west of Hyde P ...
are some of the places which they fly over, all the while having difficulty controlling the machine. Eventually their luck runs out and they crash near 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 ...
.
So ends Monson's project. All that remains is the rusting ironwork at Worcester Park, and the inspiration for others to attempt creating flying machines.