The Project Gutenberg EBook of H. G. Wells, by J. D. Beresford

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Title: H. G. Wells

Author: J. D. Beresford

Release Date: March 13, 2005 [EBook #15351]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK H. G. WELLS ***

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[Illustration: H.G. WELLS]

H.G. WELLS
By
J.D. BERESFORD

[Illustration]

NEW YORK
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY

_First Published in 1915_

CONTENTS

PAGE

I. INTRODUCTION 9
II. THE ROMANCES 17
III. THE NOVELS 58
IV. SOCIOLOGY 97
BIBLIOGRAPHY 117
AMERICAN BIBLIOGRAPHY 121
INDEX 125

[Transcriber's Notes for e-book:

The spelling and punctuation are consistent with the original scans
with the following exceptions. If you are using this book for research, please
verify any spelling or punctuation with another source.

I added ["] at end of phrase: "to recover the full-bodied
self-satisfaction of his early days."

In the following sentence, I changed 'succeded' to 'succeeded': And
Bensington, the other experimenter, succeeded in separating a food
that produced regular instead of intermittent growth.]

TO
R.A.A.B.
THIS ESSAY IS FRATERNALLY
DEDICATED

I

INTRODUCTION

THE NORMALITY OF MR WELLS

In his Preface to the _Unpleasant Plays_, Mr Shaw boasts his
possession of "normal sight." The adjective is the oculist's, and the
application of it is Mr Shaw's, but while the phrase is misleading
until it is explained to suit a particular purpose, it has a pleasing
adaptability, and I can find none better as a key to the works of Mr
H.G. Wells.

We need not bungle over the word "normal," in any attempt to meet the
academic objection that it implies conformity to type. In this
connection, the gifted possessor of normal sight is differentiated
from his million neighbours by the fact that he wears no glasses; and
if a few happy people still exist here and there who have