H.G. Wells: His Turbulent Life and Times

by Lovat Dickson

In-depth portrait of the English novelist, sociological writer and historian which focuses on his contributions to present-day moral and intellectual thought

Genres: Biography

Paperback

First published June 1, 1971

Reviews

[Chris Dietzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting because Wells's life was fascinating, but as a biographer Dickson falls short. The best biographies are captivating like good fiction, but Dickson just doesn't have the ability to make that happen. I came away from this sure that if a great biographer like Andrew Roberts or Erik Larson wrote a biography of Wells's life it would be an easy best-seller.

Still, though, it was great getting a chance to read about a science fiction icon I knew nothing about. A small list of things I learned:

- All of the books Wells is known for (The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, War of the Worlds, etc) were written at the beginning of his career. He spent the bulk of his career writing political, romance, and religious stories.
- He was prolific and wrote nearly 50 books.
- His obsession with sex created scandals in the reserved day and age he lived in.
- He interviewed both Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin.

Regardless of whether it's this book or another biography of HG Wells, if you are a fan of the author at all, his life is definitely worth reading more about.

[Delphine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Portrait of the late Victorian/Edwardian writer, whose sciencefiction novels have seen a renewed surge of public interest in the 21th century.

Wells was a very productive man, turning out at least two books a year, often working on different manuscripts at the same time. He was an all-rounder, as well. He started off as a journalist and critic, then turned to his famous scientic fantasies, made the shift to (less popular) novels of character and finally ended with books devoted to his own ideas and religion.

Wells had the uncanny talent of predicting the 20th century. Early on in his life, he was fascinated by the promise and threat of science (even to the point of predicting the atomic bomb in fiction), always questioning man's claims to superiority in the universe. He installed the idea of a World State, led by a Wellsian God (the collective consciousness of 'technical' men) , which established his reputation as a prophet and a visionary. He interviewed both Franklin Roosevelt and Stalin to compare their New Deal and Five Year Plan with his own new World Order. You need a lot of guts to do that!

As a man, Wells was not only led by ideas but also by a strong sexual drive, resulting in unhappy marriages and many scandalous affairs. He comes across as a very dominant man, keen on sneering at contemporaries such as George Bernard Shaw and Henry James. The relationship with his publisher MacMillan was tense, although both men respected each other.

Dickson's overview starts off pretty strong with detailed descriptions of the childhood and teenage years of Wells, spent in a lower class family. Halfway, the biography gets crammed with details about small publication issues and literary reception, forgetting the man in the writer. It's too technical and specific to be of any real interest. Dickson wrote his biography in the sixties (he even met Wells in person), and it is a timecapsule of that era as well, not just of the Edwardian times.

[Arnulfo Velasco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hay una curiosa paradoja con respecto a este escritor, que el mismo autor de esta biografía (escrita en 1969) no podía imaginar. Ciertamente Wells ha terminado siendo más conocido y leído en la actualidad que muchos otros autores ingleses de su tiempo (que, sin embargo, eran muy admirados por los críticos y los lectores de la época). Pero lo que ha quedado de él es justamente la literatura que el mismo Wells consideraba como menos interesante en el conjunto de su obra: sus relatos de ciencia ficción. ¿Quién lee en la actualidad novelas como "Kipps" o "Tono-Bungay". que sin embargo su autor consideraba como libros fundamentales, en los cuales intentaba exponer toda su filosofía? En contrapartida, textos como "The Time Machine", "The Island of Dr. Moreau", "The Invisible Man" o "The War of the Worlds" siguen conservando mucho de su impacto y pueden ser leídos sin hacer demasiadas concesiones al periodo histórico en el cual se escribieron. Y se siguen haciendo adaptaciones (y plagios) de ellos, sin que se resienta la distancia cultural.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised at how little I knew about the life of HG Wells. I have been attracted to his scientific romances for a very long time. I also had a glimpse of his futurist novels when I was a young man. In recent times I have been interested in his writings about his 'Open Conspiracy'. This book has helped me to put all of this together in one place.

I am new to biography as a genre, so I have no idea of how good this book is. I enjoyed reading it, I found it to be quite perceptive, giving me many insights into the character of Wells. I hadn't appreciated that he was enormously popular in his lifetime, much in the way that some authors are feted today. Without the mass media we have today, it must have been quite an achievement to have made the sales he did.

I think that the important thing is that he was a man of his times. He was able to judge the public mood just right, and that laid the foundation to his publishing success. Not all of his books were great hits, but he did managed to pen a pretty good average. The author conveys the sense of frustration that Wells felt that he was being listened to, but not being acted upon. Perhaps he was a man ahead of his times?

I found this copy of the book in Barter Books whilst on holiday. I have no idea if it is generally available or not. However, if you do see a copy, it is worth picking up and reading.

[Sambasivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

HG wells has been known to me as the writer of two books 'the outline of history' and 'the invisible man'. I did not know how prolific he was (averaging two to three novels every year) over three decades and how influential he was during his generation until I read this biography. The author has researched exceptionally well to come with a clear and balanced view of Wells' life. Wells comes across as highly intelligent, energetic and iconoclastic as well. He had a love hate relationship with his publisher Macmillan and the story comes out exceedingly well. So are his escapades with multiple women. A biography well worth a read for the sheer quality and quantity of output by Wells. (He reminded me of Euler in the field of mathematics).