Synopsis
Born in
England in 1866, H.G. Wells's parents were shopkeepers in Kent, England. His
first novel, The Time Machine was an instant success and Wells produced a
series of science fiction novels which pioneered our ideas of the future. His
later work focused on satire and social criticism. Wells laid out his socialist
views of human history in his Outline of History. He died in 1946.
Early Life
Visionary
writer H.G. Wells was born Herbert George Wells on September 21, 1866, in
Bromley, England. Wells came from a working class background. His father played
professional cricket and ran a hardware store for a time. Wells's parents were
often worried about his poor health. They were afraid that he might die young,
as his older sister had. At the age of 7, Wells had an accident that left him
bedridden for several months. During this time, the avid young reader went
through many books, including some by Washington Irving and Charles Dickens.
After Wells's
father's shop failed, his family, which included two older brothers, struggled
financially. The boys were apprenticed to a draper, and his mother went to work
on an estate as a housekeeper. At his mother's workplace, Wells discovered the
owner's extensive library. He read the works of Jonathan Swift and some of the
important figures of the Enlightenment, including Voltaire.
In his
early teens, Wells also went to work as a draper's assistant. He hated the job
and eventually quit, much to his mother's dismay. Turning to teaching, Wells
soon found a way to continue his own studies. He won a scholarship to the
Normal School of Science where he learned about physics, chemistry, astronomy
and biology, among other subjects.
Wells
also devoted much of his time to becoming a writer. During college, he
published a short story about time travel called "The Chronic
Argonauts," which foreshadowed his future literary success.
Literary Success
In 1895,
Wells became an overnight literary sensation with the publication of the novel The Time Machine. The book was
about an English scientist who develops a time travel machine. While
entertaining, the work also explored social and scientific topics, from class
conflict to evolution. These themes recurred in some of his other popular works
from this time.
Wells
continued to write what some have called scientific romances, but others
consider early examples of science fiction. In quick succession, he published
the The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897) and The War of the Worlds (1898). The Island of Doctor Moreau told the story of a man who encounters a
scientist conducting the gruesome experiments on animals, creating new species
of creatures. In The Invisible Man, Wells explores
the life of another scientist who undergoes a dark personal transformation
after turning himself invisible. The War of the
Worlds, a novel about an alien invasion, later caused a panic when an
adaptation of the tale was broadcast on American radio. On Halloween night of
1938, Orson Welles went on the air with his version of The War of the Worlds, claiming that
aliens had landed in New Jersey.
In
addition to his fiction, Wells wrote many essays, articles and nonfiction
books. He served as a book reviewer for the Saturday Review for several years, during which time he
promoted the careers of James Joyce and Joseph Conrad. In 1901, Wells published
a non-fiction book calledAnticipations. This collection of predictions
has proved to be remarkably accurate. Wells forecasted the rise of major cities
and suburbs, economic globalization, and aspects of future military conflicts.
Remarkably, considering his support for women and women's rights, Wells did not
predict the rise of women in the workplace.
Politically,
Wells supported socialist ideals. For a time, he was a member of the Fabian
Society, a group that sought social reform and believed that the best political
system was socialism. Wells explored issues of social class and economic
disparity in a number of his works, including Kipps (1905). Kippswas one of Wells's
favorites of his own work.
Over the
years, he wrote several more comedies, including 1916's Mr. Britling Sees It Through. This wildly
popular novel looks at a writer living in a small English village before,
during and after World War I. Also around this time, Wells again demonstrated
his affinity for predictions. He foresaw the splitting of atom and the creation
of atomic bombs in The World Set Free (1914).
Later Works
In 1920,
H.G. Wells published The Outline of
History, perhaps his best selling work during his lifetime. This three-volume
tome began with prehistory and followed the world's events up through World War
I. Wells believed there would be another major war to follow, and included his
ideas for the future. Lobbying for a type of global socialism, he suggested the
creation of a single government for the entire world. Around this time, Wells
also tried to advance his political ideas in the real world. He ran for
Parliament as a Labour Party candidate in 1922 and 1923, but both efforts ended
in failure.
Wells
branched out into film in the 1930s. Traveling to Hollywood, he adapted his
1933 novel The Shape of Things
to Come for the big screen. His 1936
film, called Things to Come, took audiences on
a journey from the next world war into the distant future. Around this same
time, Wells worked on the film version of one of his short stories, "The
Man Who Could Work Miracles."
An
internationally famous intellectual and author, Wells traveled widely. He
visited Russia in 1920 where he met with Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky. More
than a decade later, Wells had the opportunity to talk with Josef Stalin and
American president Franklin D. Roosevelt. He also lectured and went on speaking
tours, gaining notoriety for his radical social and political views. Taking a
break from war-torn London in 1940, Wells came to the United States. He
delivered a talk entitled "Two Hemispheres—One World."
Personal Life
In 1891,
Wells married his cousin, Isabel Mary Wells, but the union didn't last. Wells
soon took up with Amy Catherine "Jane" Robbins and the pair married
in 1895 after he officially divorced Isabel. He and Jane had two children together,
sons George Philip and Frank.
A free
thinker about sex and sexuality, Wells did not let marriage stop him from
having other relationships. He had numerous affairs and later lived apart from
Jane. His involvement with Amber Reeves resulted in the birth of their daughter
Anna-Jane in 1909. Wells later developed feelings for feminist writer Rebecca
West, and they had a son, Anthony, together. Jane died of cancer in 1927.
Death and Legacy
For
roughly 50 years, Wells devoted his life to writing and his output during this
time was amazing. Some even criticized Wells for his tremendous volume of work,
saying that he spread his talent too thin. Wells wrote, on average, three books
a year for a time. And each of his works went through several drafts before publication.
Wells
remained productive until the very end of his life, but his attitude seemed to
darken in his final days. Among his last works was 1945's "Mind at the End
of Its Tether," a pessimistic essay in which Wells contemplates the end of
humanity. Some critics speculated that Wells's declining health shaped this
prediction of a future without hope. He died on August 13, 1946, in London.
At the
time of his death, Wells was remembered as a author, historian and champion of
certain social and political ideals. So many of his predictions for the future
came true in the ensuing years that he is sometimes called "the Father of
Futurism." But today is best known as "the Father of Science
Fiction." Wells's fantastical tales continue to fascinate audiences. Several
of his works have returned to the big screen in recent years. A remake of War of the Worlds (2005) featured Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning
as two of the humans fighting to survive the alien invasion.
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