''Select Conversations with an Uncle'', published in
1895
Events January
* January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island (off French Guiana) on what is much later admitted to be a false charge of tr ...
, was
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 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, hist ...
's first literary publication in book form. It consists of reports of twelve conversations between a fictional witty uncle who has returned to London from South Africa with "a certain affluence," as well as two other conversations (one on
aestheticism
Aestheticism (also known as the aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century that valued the appearance of literature, music, fonts and the arts over their functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be produced to b ...
that takes place in a train, titled "A Misunderstood Artist," and another on
physiognomy
Physiognomy () or face reading is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the general appearance of a person, object, or terrain without referenc ...
, titled "The Man with a Nose").
Themes
The principal themes of the conversations between a Wells-like character named "George" and his uncle are
fashion
Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...
, the inevitability of human "discomfort" due to passing
social movement
A social movement is either a loosely or carefully organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a Social issue, social or Political movement, political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to re ...
s, the resemblance of
ideals to
interior decoration
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a creative flair, an interior d ...
, the art of being
photographed, the social basis of
taste in art and music, the state of being
engaged, the agony of having to listen to a near neighbor playing the
piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
,
tricycle
A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a Human-powered transport, human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) Three-wheeler, three-wheeled vehicle.
Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for pa ...
s,
social novel
Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not.
Etymology
The word "social" derives fro ...
s, and the effects of
marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
.
Contents
These are the short stories contained in this collection showing the
periodicals
Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...
in which they were first published.
* "Of Conversation and The Anatomy of Fashion"
* "The Theory of The Perpetual Discomfort of Humanity"
* "The Use of Ideals"
* "The Art of Being Photographed"
* "Bagshot's Mural Decorations"
* "On Social Music"
* "The Joys of Being Engaged"
* "La Belle Dame Sans Merci"
* "On a Tricycle"
* "An Unsuspected Masterpiece"
* "The Great Change"
* "The Pains of Marriage"
* "A Misunderstood Artist" (''Pall Mall Gazette'', 29 October 1894)
* "The Man With a Nose" (''Pall Mall Gazette'', 6 February 1894)
Publication
''Select Conversations with an Uncle'' was published in a limited edition by John Lane in a series called "The Mayfair Set" and in New York by Merriam. The volume was dedicated to "To my dearest and best friend, R.A.C.," which is a misprint either for
R.A. Gregory, Wells's friend who later became the editor of ''Nature'' between 1919 and 1939, or for Wells's wife, Amy Catherine Robbins (better known as "Jane"); it was published the day before ''
The Time Machine
''The Time Machine'' is an 1895 dystopian post-apocalyptic science fiction novella by H. G. Wells about a Victorian scientist known as the Time Traveller who travels to the year 802,701. The work is generally credited with the popularizati ...
''. The pieces in the book were drawn from thirty or more articles by Wells published in 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 i ...
'' beginning in 1893.
Reception
Wells's "uncle" character had been "very well received" in the ''Pall Mall Gazette'', but not all reviews of the volume were favorable. The ''Athenaeum'' panned it as "a dreary and foolish assemblage of commonplace ideas expressed in stilted phraseology."
[Michael Sherborne, ''H.G. Wells: Another Kind of Life'' (Peter Owen, 2010), p. 102.]
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Select Conversations with an Uncle
1895 short story collections
Short story collections by H. G. Wells