Product Description

When a Victorian scientist propels himself into the year 802,701 AD, he is initially delighted to find that suffering has been replaced by beauty, contentment and peace. Entranced at first by the Eloi, an elfin species descended from man, he soon realises that this beautiful people are simply remnants of a once-great culture – now weak and childishly afraid of the dark. They have every reason to be afraid: in deep tunnels beneath their paradise lurks another race descended from humanity – the sinister Morlocks. And when the scientist’s time machine vanishes, it becomes clear he must search these tunnels, if he is ever to return to his own era.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6057 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

About the Author
H.G. Wells was a professional writer and journalist, who published more than a hundred books, including novels, histories, essays and programmes for world regeneration. Wells's prophetic imagination was first displayed in pioneering works of science fiction, but later he became an apostle of socialism, science and progress. His controversial views on sexual equality and the shape of a truly developed nation remain directly relevant to our world today. He was, in Bertrand Russell's words, 'an important liberator of thought and action'. Marina Warner is a famed writer and critic. Patrick Parrinder has written on H.G. Wells, science fiction, James Joyce and the history of the English novel. Since 1986 he has been Professor of English at the University of Reading. Steven McLean is Secretary of the H.G. Wells Society. He recently completed his PhD on H.G. Wells at the University of Sheffield.

Customer Reviews

Exactly what a novel should be...
Being a fan of dystopian novels I decided to take a look at this, having seen the film (the one with Samantha Mumba) a number of years before. Suffice it to say that the book and the film differ in many ways and that the book trumps the film tenfold.

The book is a real page turner, and is really short at 90 pages long. The plot has it all, both science and fantasy, intrigue, characters that are likeable and even prophetic undertones. One thing that greatly surprised me was the ingenuity of this novel and how many of things described by Wells were actually incredibly accurate even for our age. It is hard to remember that this book was actually written in the Victorian, and not the present, age.

My Favourite Book
Is it all a hoax? A man, whose name we never learn, apparently builds a small time machine that vanishes in front of a group of dinner guests. Later, he claims to have just returned from a voyage into the distant future, where he experienced wonders and terrors. His evidence? A dishevelled appearance and two withered flowers that a medical man (i.e. not a botanist) can't immediately identify. The self-styled Time Traveller then vanishes for good.
Admittedly, when I first read this wonderful book it never occurred to me for a moment that we were supposed to doubt the truth of the Time Traveller's Tale. It is so immediate, so detailed, so compelling. But Wells was a very clever chap, and there are hints here and there that perhaps all is not quite as it seems. Indeed, the Time Traveller himself tells his listeners to treat it all as a story. He even seems to doubt his story himself. This doesn't undermine the visionary nature of the tale - if anything, it adds another layer to a subtle book.
G.K. Chesterton called it a 'little masterpiece'. He was right. Wells wrote a lot of good stories, but he never improved on his first book. The central question - what is the point of all our human striving? - is just as relevant today as it was in the 1890s. If you never read anything else by Wells, read this. It will take only a few hours of your time, yet it will carry you effortlessly across hundreds of millennia.

The Archetypal Scientific Romance
Wells was typically credited with several sf "firsts" & this archetypal novel is no exception. He originally wrote it as The Chronic Argonauts, whilst still a struggling biology student in London. Fate intervened when a publisher friend read it & sagely suggested he revise & re-write it up into its present form. The novels concept was original in that previous authors had limited their heroes to just travel randomly in time, subject to the arbitrary whims of fate. Whereas Wells hero could choose to travel at will into the past or future in a machine which he had invented. Wells also earned the sobriquet of the "Dickens" of his day. As he deliberately blended cutting satire with classic Darwinism to highlight social injustice. Which he does to compelling effect here: as the hero driven by scientific curiosity travels almost a million years into the future. Upon arrival at the foot of a massive bronze sphinx, he's shocked to discover that Disraeli's symbolic Two Nations (ie: societies Rich & Poor) have literally evolved into two distinct species: the poor into the "bestial" morlocks, & the rich into the "elfin" eloi. Wells then takes evolution to its shocking limits, as we discover the relative biological roles of the two species (ironically reversing the principles of capitalism). The hero initially meets the inquisitive eloi girl Weena, who guides him through this debased new world order. Eventually he discovers The Palace Of Green Porcelain, a vast ruined museum near the banks of the Thames. Used to wryly symbolise the rise & fall of our decadent civilisation. The hero becomes ever more disillusioned as the cunning morlocks steal his vital machine. Making him despairingly consider being stranded in this perilious future. However, after a fierce struggle with the morlocks, he soon recovers the machine & impulsively travels another 30 million years into the future. Stopping periodically on a perennial beach to witness the terminal devolution of mankind. Ultimately he dicovers that entropy has triumphed: the earth is now a barren desert, virtually devoid of life under the pitiless glare of a giant red sun. Finally, he returns to his own present to relate the tall tale to his incredulous friends. With scientific hindsight, its easy to condemn Wells predicted stellar lifespan as implausible. Yet despite being limited by scientific ignorance & lacking expert knowlege of nuclear physics, Wells basic principles of stellar entropy were correct (as that will probably be our suns ultimate fate sev. billion yrs hence...). As I first read the novel as a teenager many yrs ago, I must confess to being the willing victim of nostalgia here. Its stately influence has ensured it stubbornly remains amongst my all time favourite novels, & I hope it continues to inspire both past & future generations...