H.G. Wells

Herbert George Wells English author and political philososopher,

most famous for his science-fantasy novels with their prophetic

depictions of the triumphs of technology as well as the horrors

of 20th-century warfare. Wells was born September 21, 1866, in

Bromley, Kent, and educated at the Normal School of Science in

London, to which he won a scholarship. He worked as a draper's

apprentice, bookkeeper, tutor, and journalist until 1895, when he

became a full- time writer. Wells's 10-year relationship with

Rebecca West produced a son, Anthony West, in 1914. In the next

50 years he produced more than 80 books. His novel The Time

Machine mingled science, adventure, and political comment. Later

works in this genre are The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds,

and The Shape of Things to Come; each of these fantasies was made

into a motion picture. Wells also wrote novels devoted to

character delineation. Among these are Kipps and The History of

Mr. Polly, which depict members of the lower middle class and

their aspirations. Both recall the world of Wells's youth; the

first tells the story of a struggling teacher, the second

portrays a draper's assistant. Many of Wells's other books can be

categorized as thesis novels. Among these are Ann Veronica,

promoting women's rights; Tono-Bungay, attacking