358:(New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1986), pp. 35-37. "Most of Wells's ephemeral pieces have not been collected, and many have not even been identified as his. Wells did not automatically receive the byline his reputation demanded until after 1896 or so. Some journals had a policy of giving only one byline an issue, no matter how many pieces an author contributed to it. Wells also occasionally used pseudonyms, although these are ordinarily very easy to spot. His style became increasingly recognizable, and eventually he collected a number of these magazine pieces in two early volumes . . . As a result, many of his early pieces are known. Some knowledge also comes from a list compiled by Jane Wells in the First World War period. But it obvious that many early Wells items have been lost. . . . Of course, Wells himself may have been unwilling to have some of his early published work reprinted, although the correspondence does not suggest that he was ashamed of much that he wrote" (p. 35).
389:"How I Died," the volume's concluding piece. The diagnosis of a fatal illness, which came about a month after Wells incurred a serious internal injury while playing rugby on Aug. 30, 1887, proved to be mistaken. Wells describes three phases of his reaction. "My first phase was an immense sorrow for myself. . . . Then presently the sorrow broadened . . . I thought more of the world's loss, and less of my own. . . . This lasted . . . nearly four months," until one day on a springtime walk "I quite forgot I was a Doomed Man. . . . For a moment I tried in vain to think what it was had slipped my memory. Then it came, colourless and remote. 'Oh! Death.... He's a Bore,' I said; 'I've done with him,' and laughed to think of having done with him. 'And why not so?' said I." (These are the concluding words of
177:, in which a character explains that saleable articles can be devised from everyday things like pipes, umbrellas, and flower pots. According to biographer David C. Smith, one character is "probably based on his father (and perhaps partly on his older brothers), another based on his mother apparently (although the character is always referred to as an 'aunt', which may be somewhat symbolic), and a third character, 'Euphemia'. This last is usually thought to be a portrait of Jane Wells, though the figure may have some traits of Isabel as well."
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The other essays adopt the playful persona of an aspiring young writer living in modest circumstances with a wife, Euphemia, who is only sketchily and obliquely described. Their tone reflects the demands of the market in London magazines for "short essays, or short stories, often with a twist, which
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More than half of the essays are humorous social satire; serious subjects are addressed only ironically. Politics, historical and economic topics, and identifiable portraiture are eschewed. Ten essays have literary themes, and in these, too, the point of view is humorous. One ("On
Schooling and
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from among the many short essays and ephemeral pieces he had written since 1893. The book consists of thirty-nine pieces ranging from about eight hundred to two thousand words in length. A one-shilling reprint (two shillings in cloth) was issued in 1901 by
180:"Wells naturally retained affection for the writings that had launched his career, so much so that he became embroiled in a furious dispute about the contents and title page with the publisher, who eventually had to call in
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are written from a consistent first-person perspective, but only one describes an identifiable event in Wells's life—how he responded to being diagnosed with tuberculosis in the fall of 1887.
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the Phases of Mr. Sandsome") gently critiques the choice of subjects studied in the course of primary and secondary education. Half a dozen essays engage scientific themes, especially
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can be read in half a dozen minutes, but which will pique a reader's attention and ultimately allow him to think, 'How true. I have done that myself', or to make some similar remark."
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was well received; one critic called it "a very pleasant moneysworth, full of wit and humour." The book sold well and was never remaindered.
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Certain
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313:"The Mode in Monuments: Stray Thoughts in Highgate Cemetery"
458:(New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1986), p. 37.
432:(New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1986), p. 35.
406:(New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1986), p. 35.
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to act as a mediator and persuade Wells to climb down."
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Travels of a
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301:"Through a Microscope: Some Moral Reflections"
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202:"Thoughts on Cheapness and My Aunt Charlotte"
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419:(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1973), p. 95.
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456:H.G. Wells: Desperately Mortal: A Biography
430:H.G. Wells: Desperately Mortal: A Biography
404:H.G. Wells: Desperately Mortal: A Biography
356:H.G. Wells: Desperately Mortal: A Biography
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1141:The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind
238:"Of Cleverness: Apropos of One Crichton"
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1194:The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents
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232:"House-Hunting as an Outdoor Amusement"
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265:"Incidental Thoughts on a Bald Head"
1187:Select Conversations with an Uncle
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1106:The Story of a Great Schoolmaster
966:An Englishman Looks at the World
443:H.G. Wells: Another Kind of Life
1455:The Man Who Could Work Miracles
1338:The Man Who Could Work Miracles
298:"The Book of Essays Dedicatory"
767:The Secret Places of the Heart
280:"Bleak March in Epping Forest"
259:"Euphemia's New Entertainment"
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1036:Mind at the End of Its Tether
799:The World of William Clissold
415:Norman and Jeanne MacKenzie,
214:"Of Conversation: An Apology"
1493:Simon Wells (great-grandson)
1099:A Short History of the World
735:Mr. Britling Sees It Through
695:The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman
445:(Peter Owens, 2010), p. 125.
304:"The Pleasure of Quarreling"
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1401:A Story of the Days to Come
973:Experiment in Autobiography
959:The Discovery of the Future
839:The Shape of Things to Come
823:The Autocracy of Mr. Parham
535:The Island of Doctor Moreau
247:"Concerning a Certain Lady"
223:"The Poet and the Emporium"
161:Composition and Publication
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1134:The Way the World Is Going
903:Babes in the Darkling Wood
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307:"The Amateur Nature Lover"
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1415:Triumphs of a Taxidermist
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283:"The Theory of Quotation"
226:"The Language of Flowers"
217:"In a Literary Household"
208:"On the Choice of a Wife"
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1422:The Truth About Pyecraft
1408:A Story of the Stone Age
1324:Mr. Ledbetter's Vacation
1261:The Country of the Blind
1233:The Argonauts of the Air
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919:You Can't Be Too Careful
727:The Research Magnificent
623:In the Days of the Comet
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108:Certain Personal Matters
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1201:Tales of Space and Time
655:The History of Mr Polly
417:H.G. Wells: A Biography
274:"The Writing of Essays"
271:"The Extinction of Man"
244:"The Veteran Cricketer"
235:"Of Blades and Bladery"
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1078:The Outline of History
1008:God the Invisible King
871:The Camford Visitation
831:The Bulpington of Blup
687:The Passionate Friends
567:When the Sleeper Wakes
256:"Dunstone's Dear Lady"
229:"The Literary Regimen"
1488:Joseph Wells (father)
1296:A Dream of Armageddon
1247:The Chronic Argonauts
1155:A Year of Prophesying
1085:Russia in the Shadows
1029:Mankind in the Making
1001:The Future in America
987:First and Last Things
911:All Aboard for Ararat
559:The War of the Worlds
310:"From an Observatory"
268:"Of a Book Unwritten"
205:"The Trouble of Life"
154:The War of the Worlds
1537:Books by H. G. Wells
1429:A Vision of Judgment
1289:The Door in the Wall
1113:This Misery of Boots
743:The Soul of a Bishop
575:Love and Mr Lewisham
543:The Wheels of Chance
253:"The Book of Curses"
1498:H. G. Wells Society
1345:The New Accelerator
1275:A Deal in Ostriches
1092:The Science of Life
1071:The Open Conspiracy
1057:The New World Order
671:The New Machiavelli
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277:"The Parkes Museum"
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1015:In the Fourth Year
879:Apropos of Dolores
847:The Croquet Player
703:The World Set Free
663:The Sleeper Awakes
631:The War in the Air
289:"Concerning Chess"
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1512:(1979 film)
1478:G. P. Wells
1439:Screenplays
1165:Collections
1148:World Brain
1022:Little Wars
994:Floor Games
952:Crux Ansata
639:Tono-Bungay
495:H. G. Wells
175:J.M. Barrie
121:H. G. Wells
43:H. G. Wells
1526:Categories
930:Nonfiction
343:References
295:"Bagarrow"
807:Meanwhile
783:The Dream
149:evolution
77:Publisher
1387:The Star
1254:The Cone
855:Brynhild
679:Marriage
194:Contents
59:Language
1466:Related
182:Gissing
62:English
1458:(1937)
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511:Novels
117:essays
111:is an
71:Essays
39:Author
607:Kipps
67:Genre
719:Boon
147:and
113:1897
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