Skip to main content
  • Textbook
  • © 1987

H. G. Wells

Authors:

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.

Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
  2. Beginnings: Wells’s Life

    • Michael Draper
    Pages 1-10
  3. Dissolving Views: The Short Stories

    • Michael Draper
    Pages 24-34
  4. ‘Joy de Vive’: The Comic Novels

    • Michael Draper
    Pages 71-88
  5. Something to Hold On to: The Later Fiction

    • Michael Draper
    Pages 89-108
  6. Outlines: The Non-Fictional Writings

    • Michael Draper
    Pages 109-111
  7. Conclusions: Wells and the Imagination

    • Michael Draper
    Pages 112-124
  8. Back Matter

    Pages 125-133

About this book

H.G.Wells rose from humble origins to become one of the most celebrated figures of his era. His science fiction classics like The Time Machine, The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds have retained their hold on the popular imagination for nearly a century; his comic novels, Kipps and The History of Mr Polly, are remarkable both for vitality and social awareness; his later novels such as Tono-Bungay offer an engrossing and challenging account of their period. In his role of social prophet, Wells produced two bestselling histories of the world, argued in person with Lenin and Stalin and even tried to launch his own religion. To this day, fresh disclosures about his promiscuous love-life have kept him a controversial figure. In this book Michael Draper moves from a critical presentation of Well's life and ideas to examine each area of his writing in turn, building up an overview which will help readers place individual books in context, equipping them to understand and appreciate more fully this often underrated writer.

Bibliographic Information