The Flowering of the Strange Orchid

by H.G. Wells

The buying of orchids always has in it a certain speculative flavour. You have before you the brown shrivelled lump of tissue, and for the rest you must trust your judgment, or the auctioneer, or your good luck, as your taste may incline. The plant may be moribund or dead, or it may be just a respectable purchase, fair value for your money, or perhaps—for the thing has happened again and again—there slowly unfolds before the delighted eyes of the happy purchaser, day after day, some new variety, some novel richness, a strange twist of the labellum, or some subtler colouration or unexpected mimicry. Pride, beauty, and profit blossom together on one delicate green spike, and, it may be, even immortality. For the new miracle of nature may stand in need of a new specific name, and what so convenient as that of its discoverer? "John-smithia"! There have been worse names.

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Classics, Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Fantasy

26 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 2, 1894

About the author

Herbert George Wells was born to a working class family in Kent, England. Young Wells received a spotty education, interrupted by several illnesses and family difficulties, and became a draper's apprentice as a teenager. The headmaster of Midhurst Grammar School, where he had spent a year, arranged for him to return as an "usher," or student teacher. Wells earned a government scholarship in 1884, to study biology under Thomas Henry Huxley at the Normal School of Science. Wells earned his bachelor of science and doctor of science degrees at the University of London. After marrying his cousin, Isabel, Wells began to supplement his teaching salary with short stories and freelance articles, then books, including The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898).

Wells created a mild scandal when he divorced his cousin to marry one of his best students, Amy Catherine Robbins. Although his second marriage was lasting and produced two sons, Wells was an unabashed advocate of free (as opposed to "indiscriminate") love. He continued to openly have extra-marital liaisons, most famously with Margaret Sanger, and a ten-year relationship with the author Rebecca West, who had one of his two out-of-wedlock children. A one-time member of the Fabian Society, Wells sought active change. His 100 books included many novels, as well as nonfiction, such as A Modern Utopia (1905), The Outline of History (1920), A Short History of the World (1922), The Shape of Things to Come (1933), and The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind (1932). One of his booklets was Crux Ansata, An Indictment of the Roman Catholic Church. Although Wells toyed briefly with the idea of a "divine will" in his book, God the Invisible King (1917), it was a temporary aberration. Wells used his international fame to promote his favorite causes, including the prevention of war, and was received by government officials around the world. He is best-remembered as an early writer of science fiction and futurism.

He was also an outspoken socialist. Wells and Jules Verne are each sometimes referred to as "The Fathers of Science Fiction". D. 1946.

More: http://philosopedia.org/index.php/H._...

http://www.online-literature.com/well...

http://www.hgwellsusa.50megs.com/

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._Wells

Reviews

[Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill) · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite hobbies is gardening. Gardening is a sort of mindfulness meditation for me.

It also helps me to boost my mood, especially after a tough, busy day. I have a few orchids in my small garden. I was happy to see a book about gardening and orchids written by one of my favorite authors. H.G. Wells did such a marvelous job in this book that I was a little scared to go to my garden after reading this book.

The author tells the story of Winter Wedderburn, who grows orchids in his home garden. He made a purchase of orchids from the Andamans and the Indies. Winter had to face a series of strange events after that.

My favorite three lines from this book.

“I can’t help my likes and dislikes”

“Oh, don’t say that!” said his housekeeper—who was also his remote cousin. For “something happening” was a euphemism that meant only one thing to her.”

“I think I would rather be without so much excitement,” said his housekeeper. “It can’t be good for you.”

This would be a good choice if you loved reading other works by H.G.Wells.

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[Dystopian · Rating 3 out of 5]

ভালো একটা শিরশিরানি অনুভূতি দিতে পারেন বটে লেখক। স্যাটার কি হরর কি সাইফাই জনরা বের করা মূখ্য না। কোনো যায়গাই তার প্রতিভার কমতি নেই।

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story 3 stars**
Audio 4 stars**
Narrator Greg Wagland

[Char · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent short story that you can read online here: http://www.online-literature.com/well...

I've always thought orchids could be creepy.

Thanks to my fellow Bookliker, Books Hockey & a Bucketful of Snark for turning me on to this fun tale.

[Crystal Frost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, it’s hard for me to see stories that were written many years ago get bad reviews bc I’m not sure if the reader had an understanding of the time period when the story was written. This short story was written in the 1890’s. During the 19th-century Victorian "Orchidelirium" sparked a global obsession, leading to dangerous, high-stakes expeditions for new species. In this story, the MMC travels abroad to find some of the rarest orchids. So why wouldn’t we have a short story by a well known writer of the 19th century making a rather mockery of one of the characters in his stories being attacked by a rare orchid and almost being killed. And the MMC thought his life was so simple and boring and when he did get attacked by this plant, he felt like his life finally had meaning. The irony, the simplicity of the MMC life, the dramatics of the housekeeper, are just a few components that made this a wonderful story for me.

[Catherine Mustread · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable but well written and horrifying. Listened to on Classic Tales podcast.

[Mai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing (3.5⭐️)

I liked this one a bit more than I probably should have. Whenever I step into anything written by H.G. Wells, I know I’m entering a world that’s strange, unsettling, yet irresistibly intriguing.

This story perfectly captures how the hunger for excitement — for anything that makes life feel meaningful — can lead a person toward their own destruction. The protagonist’s desperation to escape the dullness and rot of everyday life pushes him to flirt with danger, even death. He knew the orchid could kill him, yet he didn’t care. That craving to feel something outweighed his sense of self-preservation. It’s a haunting reflection of how people who chase the thrill of the “edgy” often dance on the edge of their own ruin.

I really enjoyed it, though I do wish the ending had taken a darker turn — it felt like it stopped just shy of perfection.

[Diamond Cowboy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a rather odd little story of a murdering Orchid flower.

[Lör K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

(The Flowering of) The Strange Orchid is the first story of H. G. Wells' I have read. A great British author and someone I've grown up hearing about him most of my life. I've had a collection of his many novels for a while, but downloaded H. G. Wells; Classics Novels and Short Stories on Kindle. Noticing I'm very behind on my reading challenge, I decided to start reading the short stories, at least, to bring my challenge up. I didn't really expect to like them - I didn't know what to expect at all.

The Strange Orchid is a strange story to start out with, in all honesty. This was very boring at the start, and for most of the story, in all honesty. I skim read a lot of it, until Weddebern fainted. I was immediately drawn in to this.

I enjoyed this masses. It was gripping, even if I was bored with it. The writing hinted at something happening soon, and I was intrigued, no matter how much I wanted to put it down, and I read this quite quickly.

There's a large comparison in this to The Day of the Triffids, a book that was five star rated for me and I immediately got sucked in, like the tentacles. I devoured the last few pages, and just could not stop reading.

I'm really glad this was the first story I read by H. G. Wells, and I cannot wait to get into this even more. Definitely excited to read more of Wells' work.

[Thomas Houghton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great H.G. Wells short story about a man who buys an exotic orchid, but which turns out to be quite a sinister and dangerous plant. The tension he builds from such a mundane and amicable setting is impressive, and the ending leaves the reader with many intriguing questions left to answer.

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: This story, published in 1894, tells about a dangerous flower. It's obvious that this story inspired Arthur C. Clarke to write "The reluctant orchid," one of the stories in Tales from the White Hart, but while Wells's story is dramatic, Clarke's story is hilarious.

ESPAÑOL: Este cuento, publicado en 1894, habla sobre una flor peligrosa. Es obvio que este cuento inspiró a Arthur C. Clarke a escribir "La orquídea reacia", uno de los cuentos de Tales from the White Hart, pero mientras el cuento de Wells es dramático, el de Clarke es hilarante.

[juman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this story
3.5/5

[J.D. Sutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic, creepy short story from a master storyteller. H.G. Wells knows how to spin a tale! If you like suspense that borders on the horror genre then this quick read is worth your time.

[Ben Chandler]

I encountered this after reading the iconic novel The War of the Worlds and listening to a nice history podcast detailing the extremely risky and profitable historical career of orchid hunters. It was cute to see that old interest represented here as a driving point of the narrative, but what was possibly stranger than the strange orchid is that coming from The War of the Worlds, a tale that raises questions of empathy, humanity and humility, it's odd to find Wells writing a story that can be summed up as "A macabre, gruesome but quite interesting thing happens to a boring man who is bored with his boring life." It's a cute, spooky little tale, but little more than that.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Macabre Exoctic. A late victorian Bio-Sci-Fiction. Portryal of a lonely man with an intense special interest ? Who lives with a unnamed female relative? Commentary on colonialism and exploitation. Wells packs so much into these few pages.

So obviously the inspiration for Little Shop of Horrors.

I think H. G. Wells would have appreciated seeing his story as a rock opera.

[Akrabar · Rating 5 out of 5]

audiobook

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q57X-...

[leni_hermanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Behold the peril of growing unfamiliar flowers. Huhuhu!

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. The writing style, the emotions, the gentle humor running throughout. He's a master.

[Madhulika Liddle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was supposed to attend to a bunch of gladiolus corms today: remove the husks, check if any were sprouting, and so forth. I decided I'd do that once I finished reading this short story by HG Wells, about an avid gardener - a fan of orchids - who acquires a strange new orchid no-one has seen before...

And now I've decided I'll do those corms another day. Once I've had time to get over this story.

[Iris M · Rating 2 out of 5]

read this for school

[Boyan Velev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man buy weird orchid. Cinematic masterpiece

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

:o

[Abbie Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

4✨

[Layla · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this story is short, I really enjoyed it. It was an easy read (in a good way). I love evil flowers so this story interested me.

[phill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wonder if this inspired Little Shop of Horrors 😆 I enjoyed this short story but I wish someone had taken a flamethrower to the dam thing.

[Janne Wass · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although not very well known by modern SF fans, "The Strange Orchid", published a year before Wells' breakout novel "The Time Machine", is one of the author's most influential short stories, in that it was probably the first SF story to introduce the concept of the Killer Plant, a trope which has since become so popular that it is cliché. For his story Wells drew on the botanical work of his contemporary SF author, the sadly neglected Grant Allen. Allen wrote two major works on botany, in which he postulated that plants should be seen as organisms with agency rather than just passive products of evolution, a conclusion he drew partly by observing carnivorous plants. Ever interested in the latest scientific theories, Wells was inspired by Allen to create a "vampire orchid", using the scent of its flowers to stun its victim and then ensnaring them with its aerial roots to suck the blood out of some poor botanist's body. ⁠
⁠
The story concerns an amateur botanist, an "insignificant" man with an insignificant job and an insignificant hobby (flowers), who inherits the orchid collection of a friend, who has been found dead and curiously drained of blood next to an unknown species of orchids on a botanical expedition. Setting up the new orchid in his greenhouse, this insignificant little man is one day attacked by the orchid in the manner described above, but saved at the last minute by his housekeeper. At the end of the story, his greenhouse stands neglected and withering, while he himself is full of vigour and new importance thanks to his adventure with the orchid. ⁠
⁠
As in many of Wells' stories, there's much to read between the lines. Here Wells equates the life of an insignificant man to the life of a flower, indicating that the agency and purpose of a flower may be just as important and significant as that of a human being, in an evolutionary perspective; that Man is simply one of many thousands of species, and that nature does not discriminate between humans and flowers. ⁠

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the Victorian era the collecting and discovering orchids reached extraordinarily high levels of flower madness. Incorporating this level of orchid collecting mania, H.G. Wells perhaps created one of the first crossover science fiction horror tales featuring a blood sucking plant that went on to inspire future stories of carnivorous plants and their human prey.

[Shelby Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love plants, and I love orchids (even though they don’t like me lolol this is me tryna grow orchids hahaha), so I vibed with this one. A classic case of curiosity killed the [naive] cat. A lot of times, the prettiest and brightest things can be the most toxic. 🤧

[Steve Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anything from H G Wells stands the test of time. Still fresh. A master story teller and most of his stories have been made into movies and radio dramas.

[Alexandra]

http://www.online-literature.com/well...