Herbert Wells

1.

Municipal General Educational Institution
Secondary School № 6
Herbert Wells

2.

Herbert George Wells was born on
September 21, 1866 in Bromley, England.
Wells came from a working class
background. His father played
professional cricket and had a hardware
store for a time. Wells's parents were
often worried about his poor health. They
were afraid that he might die young. As a
boy H. G. Wells had always been
physically active. At the age of 7, Wells
had an accident that left him bedridden
for several months. During that time, the
avid young reader went through many
books, including some by Washington
Irving and Charles Dickens.

3.

At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a draper at
Windsor. Two years later he became a student assistant
at Midhurst Grammar School. At 18 he won a
scholarship to study biology at the Normal School of
Science, where T.H. Huxley was one of his teachers. In
the early 1890s, Wells started teaching science classes,
which led him to write a biology textbook. He also
started writing articles in the popular magazines that
were beginning to pop up everywhere. At the invitation
of one of the editors, he began writing science-fiction
stories in the mid 1890s.

4.

In 1891, Wells married his cousin, Isabel Mary
Wells, but the union didn't last for a long time. Wells
soon took up with Amy Catherine "Jane" Robbins and
the pair married in 1895 after he officially divorced
Isabel. He and Jane had two children together, sons
George Philip and Frank. Wells did not let marriage
stop him from having other relationships. He had
numerous affairs and later lived apart from Jane. His
involvement with Amber Reeves resulted in the birth of
their daughter Anna-Jane in 1909. Wells later
developed feelings for feminist writer Rebecca West,
and they had a son, Anthony, together. Jane died of
cancer in 1927.

5.

6.

Wells also devoted much time to
become a writer. During his studying at
college, he published a short story about
travelling called "The Chronic
Argonauts," which foreshadowed his
future literary success.

7.

In 1895, Wells became well known for the
publication of the novel “The Time Machine”. The
book was about an English scientist who developed
time travelling by machine. While entertaining, the
work also explored social and scientific topics, from
class conflict to evolution. These themes recurred in
some of his other popular works of that time.

8.

Wells continued to write scientific
novels. Later he published “The Island
of Doctor Moreau” (1896), “The
Invisible Man” (1897) and “The War of
the Worlds” (1898). “The Island of
Doctor Moreau” told the story of a man
who made experiments on animals,
creating new species of creatures. In
“The Invisible Man”, Wells explored
the life of another scientist after turning
himself invisible.” The War of the
Worlds”, a novel about an alien
invasion, later caused a panic when its
adaptation was broadcasted on
American radio.

9.

In addition to his fiction, Wells wrote many essays,
articles and nonfiction books. In 1901, Wells published a
non-fiction book called “Anticipations”. Politically, Wells
supported socialist ideals. For a time, he was a member of
the Fabian Society, a group that sought social reform and
believed that the best political system was socialism. Wells
explored issues of social class and economic disparity in a
number of his works, including “Kipps” which was one of
Wells' s favorite work.
Over the years, he wrote several more comedies,
including “Mr. Britling sees it through”. This wildly
popular novel about a writer living in a small English
village before, during and after World War I.

10.

For roughly 50 years, Wells devoted his life to writing and his output during this time
was amazing. Some even criticized Wells for his tremendous volume of work, saying that
he spread his talent too thin. Wells wrote, on average, three books a year for a time. And
each of his works went through several drafts before publication.
Wells remained productive until the very end of his life, but his attitude seemed to
darken in his final days. Among his last works was 1945's "Mind at the End of Its Tether,"
a pessimistic essay in which Wells contemplates the end of humanity. Some critics
speculated that Wells's declining health shaped this prediction of a future without hope.
He died on August 13, 1946, in London.

11.

• When you are bored and have a little time,
• Take Herbert’ s books and your mood will be fine.
• Read one of the stories and you’ll understand
• It’ll really give you the happiest moment.