H. G. Wells

Herbert George Wells had a mind well ahead of those in his time period. Wells often looked towards the future in his work as he became and important piece to the foundation of science fiction.

Herbert was born into a family that was considered lower-middle class but struggled greatly to keep that spot in the class system of that time in England. His father, Joseph Wells owned a store but gained more profit from his ability to coach and play cricket (Hartsveldt 1). His family was just barely getting by when his father had to retire from cricket due to an injury (Hartsveldt 1). This caused his mother to have to get a job as a housekeeper for a wealthy family. And because of having a working wife and mother their family fell out of the middle class (Hartsveldt 1). Wells is known to use some of his family struggles in his work. His experiences of growing up poor among the rich family his mother worked for and seeing the separation between social classes (Rollyson 5). Wells often gave some of his characters problems like he had growing up, problems such as struggles with social respectability, personal satisfaction, and even happiness (Hartsveldt 1). So as his own family struggled with social acceptance and striving for happiness while in the situation that they were in, his characters in his future works go through those very same problems.

Wells had a way with the ladies. Even though Wells was a little short, about five foot six inches, and kind of pudgy, there was something about him that caused women of his time to be absolutely attracted to him (Hartsveldt 1). Some might think that this is a blessing, but for Wells it was a serious problem. Wells married his cousin Isabel Mary Wells in 1891 (Rollyson 1). Within one year of ...

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"H. G. Wells." Enotes.com. Ed. Joseph Palmisano. Enotes.com, 2004. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. .

Hartesveldt, Fred R. van. "H. G. Wells." Dictionary Of World Biography: The 20Th Century (2000): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.

Loveday, Veronica. “H. G. Wells.” H.G. Wells (2005): 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 9 Feb. 2012

Rollyson, Carl. “H. G. Wells.” Magill’s Survey Of World Literature, Revised Edition (2009): 1-7. Literary Reference Center. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.

Rollyson, Carl. “War Of The Worlds.” Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-3. Literary Refernce Center. Web. 24 Jan. 2012.

Stableford, Brian. "The Time Machine." Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-4. Literary Reference Center. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.

Wells, H. G. The Time Machine; an Invention. Cambridge, MA: R. Bentley, 1971. Print.