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Dossier 1 H. G. Wells
Although cricket dates back further, the first recorded match was in 1646. The first so-called professionals appeared in the same century. By the 18th century it had become a national sport.
H. G. Wells
(1866-1946)
H.G. Wells was a British writer and social thinker. He is most famous for his science fiction novels and is considered the father of this genre of writing. However, he also wrote humorous novels, short stories and non-fiction books about his views on society. He was an influential figure.
Childhood and studies
Herbert George Wells was born on 21st September 1866 in Bromley, Kent. He was the youngest of four children. His mother, Sarah, had been a servant and his father, Joseph, had been a gardener before becoming a shopkeeper and professional cricket player. When Wells was seven years old, he broke his leg. His father brought him books from the library to pass the time and this was the beginning of his love of reading. Unfortunately, in 1877, an injury meant the end of Joseph Wells’ career as a cricket player and increased the family’s financial difficulties. The two older sons had to leave school and go to work and Sarah became a servant again. In 1880, at the age of fourteen,
Grammar schools are selective schools and entry is through an exam.
Herbert also left school. After two brief jobs, he worked for a draper* in Southsea for two years. His life there was hard and very unhappy. In 1883, he obtained a place at Midhurst Grammar School as a pupil-teacher, teaching the younger children while continuing his own education. Wells was very interested in science. At the age of eighteen, Wells won a scholarship* to study biology at the Royal College of Science in London. One of his teachers there was T.H. Huxley, a famous scientist, friend and follower of Charles Darwin. Wells enjoyed his time studying with Huxley more than any other. Darwin’s theories of evolution and natural selection influenced Wells’ ideas and can be seen in his writing. While at the college, Wells explored his interest in art, literature, and socialist politics. In fact, he spent so much time on these interests instead of studying that he left university in 1887 without a degree. Wells returned to teaching, taking a job as a teacher at a private school in Wales. Unfortunately, he was injured during a football match there and was ill for several months. He had serious breathing problems which returned several times over the next ten years. The following year, Wells got a teaching position at a school in London and, in 1890, he finished his studies, obtaining a first-class degree in biology and second-class in geology. After this he taught at a college, preparing students to pass biology exams.
The grade system for degrees in the UK is: first class, second class (divided into 2:1 and 2:2), third and ordinary.
draper (n.) man who produces and sells textiles for clothes scholarship (n.) prize for school or university so that you pay less or nothing 9
“If we don’t end war, war will end us.”
Regent’s Park is one of eight Royal Parks in London and was named after the Prince Regent who later become King George IV. Love and marriage
In 1891 Wells married his cousin, Isabel Mary Wells. However, the marriage was not a success, and, in 1894, Wells left and went to live with Amy Catherine Robbin, who had been one of his students. They married the following year and had two sons, George and Frank. Although they remained married, Wells was not a faithful* husband. He had a series of relationships with other women, most of whom were writers and moved in the same circles* as him. He even had other children. After his wife died in 1927, Wells spent a period dividing his time between London and the South of France, where he had built a house with the Dutch writer and journalist Odette Kuen, before returning to live in London. He died in his home near Regent’s Park on 13th August 1946, just before his eightieth birthday.
The writer and thinker
Although Wells’ first published work was a biology textbook, he is most famous for his science fiction novels. The range of themes he wrote about show his imagination and vision and are still at the heart of this type of literature and films today: time travel; alien life; wars between planets and the evolution* of humans and other forms of life. The Time Machine, published in 1895, was an immediate success. It was soon followed by The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), The War of the Worlds (1898), The First Men in the Moon (1901). In these novels Wells expressed a pessimistic view of the future of humanity. He also made some remarkable predictions in his science fiction. In A World Set Free (1914) he predicted nuclear weapons and in The Shape of Things to Come (1933) he predicted another World War.
faithful (adj) remaining loyal to your husband or wife move in the same circles (exp.) socialise with the same people evolution (n.) development over time of a race or animal species
Wells did not want to be considered just a science fiction writer, so he turned to writing humorous novels: Love and Mr. Lewisham (1900); Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul (1905); and The History of Mr. Polly (1910). He was able to describe the lives of the lower classes so well that he was compared to Charles Dickens. Wells also wrote non-fiction.
Online Research
His first bestselling non-fiction was Anticipations (1901) in which he explained his ideas for the future, many of which came true: for example, people would be able to travel further for work because of the increase in transport, there would be a European Union. He was regarded as a leading thinker on social progress. In 1940 he wrote a book called The Rights of Man and believed in an international agreement on it. He was on the committee that wrote The Declaration of Human Rights and was one of the most active members.
Charles Dickens (18121870) is one of Britain’s most celebrated writers whose novels include Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and A Christmas Carol.
Many of H.G. Wells’ books were made into films. Some, several times. Go online and find out about one of them. Complete the chart.
Name of film: ______________________________________ Year released: ______ Director: ___________________ Main actor(s): ______________________________ Plot _____________________________________________________________________
