H.G. Wells Collection

by H.G. Wells

Doma Publishing presents to you this H.G. Wells Collection, which has been designed and formatted specifically for your Amazon Kindle. Unlike other e-book editions, the text and chapters are perfectly set up to match the layout and feel of a physical copy, rather than being haphazardly thrown together for a quick release.

This edition also comes with a linked Table of Contents for both the list of included books and their respective chapters. Navigation couldn't be easier.

Purchase this H.G. Wells Collection and treat yourself to the following list of works created by this classic author:

Novels:
The Time Machine (1895)
The Wonderful Visit (1895)
The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896)
The Wheels of Chance (1896)
The Invisible Man (1897)
The War of the Worlds (1898)
Love and Mr. Lewisham (1900)
The First Men in the Moon (1901)
The Sea Lady (1902)
The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth (1904)
Kipps (1905)
A Modern Utopia (1905)
In the Days of the Comet (1906)
The War in the Air (1908)
Tono-Bungay (1909)
Ann Veronica (1909)
The History of Mr. Polly (1910)
The Sleeper Awakes (1910)
The New Machiavelli (1911)
Marriage (1912)
The Passionate Friends (1913)
The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman (1914)
The World Set Free (1914)
The Research Magnificent (1915)
Mr. Britling Sees It Through (1916)
The Soul of a Bishop (1917)
The Secret Places of the Heart (1922)
Non-fiction:
Certain Personal Matters (1897)
Anticipations of the Reactions of Mechanical and
Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought (1901)
Mankind in the Making (1903)
New Worlds for Old (1908)
First and Last Things (1908)
Floor Games (1911)
Little Wars (1913)
An Englishman Looks at the World (1914)
What is Coming? (1916)
God the Invisible King (1917)
War and the Future (aka Italy, France and Britain at
War) (1917)
In the Fourth Year (1918)
The Salvaging of Civilization (1921)
A Short History of the World (1922)
Short Stories:
Select Conversations with an Uncle (Now Extinct) and
Two Other Reminscences (1895)
The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents (1895)
Tales of Space and Time (1899)
Twelve Stories and a Dream (1903)
Other Short Stories

Genres: Classics, Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks, Novels, Collections, Science Fiction Fantasy

13000 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 22, 2013

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

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The exact version of the book I listened is the Audible collection of writings by H.G. Wells with this story narrated by David Tennant. One of the original dystopias, I was thrilled by the inventiveness and detail.

[Chris]

Novels
The Time Machine - 3 stars - This is more about the social classes than about time travel.
The Wonderful Visit - 1 star - I just couldn't finish. There is an angel(? higher dimensional being) that comes (falls) to Earth and is trying to understand humanity or something like that.
The Island of Doctor Moreau - 2 stars - I can't tell if this is about the dangers of taking science to the extreme or if it is about how everything has a balance and when they are moved out of that balance they will over time seek to regain that balance.
The Wheels of Chance - 1 star - I couldn't get into to this. It's about a man, his new bike, and learning to ride it. There is also potentially some romance, but I didn't get far enough to find out if it goes anywhere.
The Invisible Man - 3 stars - Man turns himself invisible and then finds being invisible has fewer uses than he thought it would. One of those uses is crime and he takes to it like a duck to water.
The War of the Worlds - 4 stars - Interesting look at what an alien invasion would look like. I would just like to point out that when Europeans came to the Americas they brought the disease that killed off the natives and not the other way around.
Love and Mr Lewisham - 1 star - I couldn't get into this. It seems to be about a young man who has his life/career all planned out and it is derailed because he sees a pretty young woman.
The First Men in the Moon - 3 stars - A scientist theorizes about a metal that can block "gravitational radiation" thereby making it and everything above it unaffected by gravity. His neighbor convinces him to make it for practical applications and they make a spaceship. They go to moon and meet/are captured by the Selenites (moon natives). Violence ensues because when a European meets a native that always seems to happen.
The Sea Lady - 2 stars - A mermaid comes to land to get a man. Maybe it is a commentary on the allure of the exotic and the unknown verses doing your duty and meeting others expectations?
The Food of the Gods and How it Came to Earth - 1 star - This feels like an unfinished story. It is also all over the place in terms of characters and plot. A scientist finds a chemical which causes things to grow exponentially and creates a bunch of giant children who become giant adults, which leads to conflict. I think the moral is once innovation is unleashed it will go forward even if it is bad for the majority of people.
Kipps - 1 star - I couldn't finish this. It follows the life of Arthur Kipps and I just couldn't get into it.
A Modern Utopia - ? stars -
In the Days of the Comet - ? stars -
The War in the Air - ? stars -
Tono-Bungay - ? stars -
Ann Veronica - ? stars -
The History of Mr Polly - ? stars -
The Sleeper Awakes - ? stars -
The New Machiavelli - ? stars -
Marriage - ? stars -
The Passionate Friends - ? stars -
The Wife of Sir Isaac Harmon - ? stars -
The World Set Free - ? stars -
The Research Magnificent - ? stars -
Mr Britling Sees It Through - ? stars -
The Soul of the Bishop - ? stars -
The Secret Places of the Heart - ? stars -

Non-Fiction
Certain Personal Matters - 3 stars - These seem to be news paper articles that he wrote mostly about everyday events or things he has opinions about.
Anticipations of the Reactions of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought - 2 stars - H G Wells tries to picture what the world will look like in the year 2000 based on the trends of his time (1901) and while he got some things right (Europe becoming more unified) he got a lot of things wrong (moving walkways instead of subways).
Mankind in the Making - 2 stars - A description of how to create a New Republic and what that would mean for and how it would elevate mankind. I personally have some serious issues with H G Wells' ideas, namely on eugenics. He is for it but admits that it is impossible simply because no one can really define who is "fit" and who isn't. Some of his other ideas are good, such as making sure housing meets a certain standard of cleanliness, but most of his ideas would be incredibly expensive to implement.
New Worlds for Old - 3 stars - A look at what Socialism is and how it could be implemented. As well as what it would be like to live in a "true" socialist society. A lot of time is spent differentiating "modern" or "true" socialism from other types of socialism.
First and Last Things - 2 stars - An essay on H G Wells' thoughts on belief, religion, and life. It seems contradictory to what he preaches in New Worlds for Old. In New Worlds for Old Wells is all about the collective will and how everyone needs to live by the rules of the greater society but this is all about individuality and how everyone can choose their own standard to live by. Maybe I just didn't understand it all that well.
Floor Games - 2 stars - A description of the games and their materials, mostly wooden blocks, boards, and toy soldiers, he played with his boys. It describes some pictures but this edition does not have them.
Little Wars - 3 stars - A in depth look at one particular Floor Game which was just war games with the toy soldiers and a lot more rules. This includes the pictures it describes.
An Englishman Looks at the World - 2 stars - Thoughts on English creativity, political system, economic structure, literary habits, education, and so many other things.
What is Coming? - 3 stars - Some interesting thoughts on what would happen after WWI, most of it his hopes on what would happen and how to accomplish those hopes. Some other thoughts on how the war is changing society or will change society.
God the Invisible King - 2 stars - Wells' thoughts on God and religion. He has some very interesting points on certain Christian beliefs but I feel like the whole point of this was to show how God and religion could be integrated into the Socialist system he is advocates.
War and the Future (aka Italy, France, and Britain at War) - 3 stars - Wells visited the front in Italy and France and the first part is about his feelings and observations. He talks about how technology has changed war and how it will evolve. The last part is some of his predictions on what the world will look like after the war, depending on how it ends. This was written in 1916 I believe.
In the Fourth Year - 3 stars - Wells' thoughts on what the League of Nations will have to look like for it to succeed. The powers it will have to have and who will be the main players. he also has a couple of chapters promoting his thoughts on Proportional Representation, a method of election that is simple but should, according to Wells, get rid of political parties.
The Salvaging of Civilization - 3 stars - World wide education is Wells' panacea for all the world's problems. He also advocates for the creation of a "Bible" that will spread the idea of world citizenship like the Bible spread Christianity.
A Short History of the World - 3 stars - Very Eurocentric. Nothing is said of Sub-Saharan Africa and little is said of the Americas or India before Europeans arrived.

Short Stories
Select Conversations with an Uncle (Now Extinct) and Two Other Reminscences - 2 stars - Mostly the ramblings of an old man about how he thinks the world should be.
The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents - 2 stars - Some of these seem like the beginning of stories H G Wells wanted to write but didn't finish while others seemed like he was given a topic or writing prompt. All very distinct and none of them are related to each other.
Tales of Space and Time - 2 stars - The Crystal Egg could be a precursor to The War of the Worlds the others are stories of what life was like or could be like if "such and such" happened.
Twelve Stories and a Dream - 3 stars - These are quick to read and fairly interesting. Most are told as if they were related to the author by the person to whom the events happened.
Other Short Stories - 3 stars - Quick to read and mostly about unexplained or mysterious phenomena. Some slice of life type stories as well. The last two The Beautiful Suit and A Moonlight Fable are the same story though.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a review of The Shape of Things to Come, one of the novels in this tome.

The Shape of Things to Come is a history of The twentieth century and beyond from the perspective of Mr. H. G. Wells. It was written in about 1932-1934, long after the euphoria of the end of The Great War. It is about how the insanity of sovereign nations is abandoned and a socialist world government is engineered.

[Dirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am enjoying this book, however (at least on my Kindle Paperwhite) the ebook appears to be somewhat broken. It jumps around wildly in the chapters, randomly, when trying to turn the pages (which is very slow even if it works). It also sometimes jumps to the end of the book, or even crashes the reader and causes it to reboot.

[Esteban · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the proverbial Curate's egg this collection is good in parts

Wells frequently asserts his belief in an evo!utionary philosophy with a pedantic pandering to socialism and one-world-government which tends to spoil the enjoyment of his finer works. Several essays are repeated towards the end of the book and several typos must be overcome.

[David Lappin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some Gems, .

For those that like older literature. Scifi aside contains some interesting social and political commentaries from first 40 years of the 20th century with some interesting insights to ww1, etc .

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Complete Novels of H. G. Wells: Over 55 Works: The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, The History of Mr. Polly, The War in the Air and many more by H.G. Wells – A free Amazon collection! Happy Reading!

[Almustafa Couch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect tome a real doorstop of HG Wells novels he went through all genres and love it or hate it (romance for instance )it is all worth reading you the reader can see why he is a sci-fi author and one of the best.

[Hemat Shah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hate it

I accidentally payed for it and it was TRASH I hate it so much. 😭😭😭😭😭 Why did I pay for it!!!!

[james m paterson]

Mammoth read of classic genre

[William E. Ferreira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well's Philosophy and Sci-fi

Mostly his philosophy and politics expounded through novels and short stories. He was a naive dreamer though his ideas are well expressed.

[Jan C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saw the movie but wanted to read more Wells than I have. While I'm not a big science fiction fan, the characters are well developed. And, the ending is quite believable.

[Thomas Kermes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot to think about.

A lot of deep thought. He does seem to recognize that man has an ego.
Many paragraphs are very long.
He seems very nieve.
This was a long read.

[Diana (DomesticGoddess)]

The Island of Doctor Moreau:
This one's been around for a while; what can I say that hasn't already been said? Instead, I'll relate Things About The Book that made an impression on me (creep-factor not withstanding).

A bit of historical background:
The Island of Doctor Moreau is an 1896 science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells, who called the novel "an exercise in youthful blasphemy". The text of the novel is the narration of Edward Prendick, a shipwrecked man rescued by a passing boat who is left on the island home of Doctor Moreau, who creates human-like beings from animals via vivisection. The novel deals with a number of philosophical themes, including pain and cruelty, moral responsibility, human identity, and human interference with nature.
At the time of novel's publication in 1896, there was growing discussion in Europe regarding degeneration and animal vivisection. Two years later several interest groups were formed to address the issue such as the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection. (Wikipedia)

The narrator's impression of Moreau's Beast People:
"I had here before me the whole balance of human life in miniature, the whole interplay of instinct, reason, and fate in its simplest form."

Evidence of existentialism, before it was called existentialism (which also explains Wells' above comment about blasphemy; it struck me that he's questioning if God had any good or rational intent in the creation of man):
"Poor Brutes! I began to see the viler aspect of Moreau's cruelty. I had not thought before of the pain and trouble that came to these poor victims after they had passed from Moreau's hands. I had shivered only at the days of actual torment [surgery] in the enclosure. But now that seemed to me the lesser part. Before, they had been beasts, their instincts fitly adapted to their surroundings, and happy as living things may be. Now they stumbled in the shackles of humanity, lived in fear that never died, fettered by a law they could not understand; their mock-human existence, begun in agony, was one long internal struggle, one long dread of Moreau - and for what? It was the wantoness of it that stirred me...
But he was so irresponsible, so utterly careless! His curiosity, his mad, aimless investigations, drove him on; and the Things were thrown out to live a year or so, to struggle and blunder and suffer, and at last to die painfully."

Existentialism - a chiefly 20th-century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad.
First use: 1941 (Merriam-Webster)

1941??? H. G. was certainly a trend-setter in his time.

In the end, Wells returns to faith:
"There is - though I do not know how there is or why there is - a sense of infinite peace and protection in the glittering hosts of heaven [stars]. There must be, I think, in the vast and eternal laws of matter, and not in the daily cares and sins and troubles of men, that whatever is more than animal within us must find its solace and its hope."

[Nicholas Musgrave · Rating 5 out of 5]

The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, Time Machine, Island of Dr. Moreau, what more can you say? Every one of them a influential milestone science fiction and all of them essential reading. I'm a massive H G Well's fan and anyone who enjoys science fiction or fantasy and who's interested in how a great story unfolds, it's pacing, tension, and gradual plot developments would do well to read all his major works. A big influence on me and the stuff I write, if you enjoy Wells please follow me at @HollowKingbooks & I'll follow back.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing collection that all readers should keep next to their bed or in their car to pass time in the most exciting and compelling way. Mr. Wells is an author all should read and enjoy and also remember when these amazing stories were written, so fascinating.

[Richard Buro · Rating 4 out of 5]

The finished is for "The Island of Dr. Moreau" only. I have read others in this collection as well, but not the whole book as yet.

[Kim Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only read The Time Machine

[Ben Zimmerman]

9⁸

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read:

The Chronic Argonauts - Aug 22. 3/5.
The Invisible Man - 3/5
The Island of Dr Moreau - 2/5
The Sea Raiders - 3/5.
The Time Machine. Aug 22. 3/5.

[Dwayne Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot to unpack. There's some good fiction and some bad. H.G. was definitely imaginative, to say the least. The compilation left me underwhelmed.