The Truth About Pyecraft

by H.G. Wells

"The Truth About Pyecraft" is a British fantasy-comedy short story by H.G. Wells. It was originally published in "The Strand Magazine" (April 1903), and then included in the "Twelve Stories and a Dream" story collection, in 1903. It has been frequently reprinted.

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

ebook

First published January 1, 1903

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

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGLISH: This story, published in 1903, is not sci-fi, but tells about exotic medicine (or witch medicine) used with unforeseen results. A hilarious story, written in a peculiar style.

ESPAÑOL: Este cuento, publicado en 1903, no es ciencia-ficción, sino que trata sobre el uso de medicina exótica (o de medicina-brujería) con resultados imprevistos. Un cuento hilarante, escrito en un estilo peculiar.

[Anjan Das · Rating 4 out of 5]

বেশ মজার।সিরিয়াসলি মজা পাইছি।

[Fatima · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t see why this story was written. Coming from one of my favourite authors, this was very disappointing. Riddled with fat shaming and racism, I don’t get why anyone likes this book

[Lualea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 A-stars 🌟 MA read for sensational literature.

[Dan Macdonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wells was familiar with George MacDonald who authored "The Light Princess" about a girl who lost her gravity. This is his variation on that theme.
For a modern variation on the theme read Stephen King's Elevation.

[Ⰰⱃⰿⰰⱀⰴ Ⱆⰾⰴⰵⱃⰻⰽⱁ Ⱅⰵⱄⰾⰰ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Penguin books, 2007.
A simple but crafty language, it catches the reader's attention.
A bizarre short story. It's cool.
Hasta luego mis murciélagos!

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's actually a pretty humorous story about a fat man who attempts to lose weight by oriental medicine rather than simple diet and exercise, with the simple moral that there's no such thing as a short cut in life.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny, highly amusing, a complete miss understanding in a word could lead to something completely different. A great and humerous story.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

In our current time, I think (hope?) we are at the end of the overuse of the word “literally” in incorrect ways. And I love that this short story, published in the early 1900s, played with the idea that words have meaning, and we should mean what we say and say what we mean. Perhaps we should take words more literally.

Again, not really what I would classify as horror, when horror was what I was looking for. (It was in a book of horror short stories.) Not really even sci-fi in my book. Supernatural, maybe.

I will say that I try not to be anachronistic, or at the very least I try to keep things in context of the time period, but the near-constant fat-shaming did make me uncomfortable.

[Alec Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un cuento corto de Wells. Hilarante, cayendo en lo cómico. Este cuento nos narra la historia del Sr. Pyecraft, un arrogante obeso que hará lo que sea con tal de bajar de peso. Incluso si tiene que caer en lo mágico para lograrlo.

Un cuento que lees en poco tiempo, que te ayudará si te encuentras en un bloqueo lector. Con una narrativa fácil y llamativa. Supera el valle de las arañas del mismo autor.

[Jason Comely · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I said earlier during the blitzathon that I wouldn't read any more H.G. Wells, but this story differs from the others, and I needed a palate-cleanser after the last book I read. Mildly funny with a dry sense of humor, I found that translated H.G. Wells isn't the best choice for learning a new language, such as Polish, in this case.

More on my language learning experiment here: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...

[DW · Rating 3 out of 5]

A repellent obese man, Mr. Pyecraft, takes Mr. Formalyn's Hindustani great-grandmother's "weight-loss" elixir. Instead of losing fat, however, the now weight-less man ascends to his bedroom ceiling. Eventually, the narrator advises him to place heavy lead pieces in his clothes so he can return to civilization without floating away.

[Kakha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a pretty scary story. I remember that it made a strong impression on me when I first read it about 25 years ago. Now I think that this story is probably ahead of its time, of course with its content but also with the mastery of the artistic word in its genre too.

[Brittany Linman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very clever and humorous, exactly what I wanted out of a Wells short story.

[Anya · Rating 1 out of 5]

Racism and fat shaming, what a combination.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was hilarious!

[David Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gustó mucho es una historia breve fácil de leer y entretenida, un muy buen libro de Wells

[s · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short and amusing read, albeit hard to read at times, but nothing extraordinary. The twist was ingenious, and the concept fun; all was well-executed, but not to an amazing extent.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Lulasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You committed the sin of euphuism".

[Matthew Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goofy little story

[Ivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

5/10

[Mariana Castaño · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relato corto de H.G.Wells, escritor famoso por sus novelas de ciencia ficción y que es considerado, junto a Julio Verne, como uno de los precursores de este género.
''La verdad acerca de Pyecraft'' es un relato corto lleno de comedia y ciencia ficción. Posee una narrativa muy agradable y logra cautivar al lector con la descabellada fantasía que se desenvuelve poco a poco a lo largo de la historia.

[Lolo]

j

[Amalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. A pretty decent story.