Herbert George Wells
In History, many writers have tried to touch on stories of science
fiction, but
were not too successful. One man though, by the name of Herbert
George Wells has
been considered by some to be the father of modern
science
fiction.(GeoCities.com) H.G. Wells as some may call him, have had
various books,
and stories that has made him very famous in the great book
world around the
nation, as far as modern science fiction goes. Wells best
know books include,
" The Time Machine", "The Invisible Man", "The War of
the Worlds and
"The Island Of Dr. Moreau." Out of 100 Books Wells wrote
fifty of them
were top sellers across the United States and many parts of the
world. Many
Critics seen Well's as a crazy and loony writer because of
his illusional mind,
But Wells seen his work as a piece of the world that
everyone was afraid to
touch on, but Wells was the crazy writer that did so.
As far as many people were
concerned, Wells was considered a great author for
his work and one of the best
authors of his time because of his imagination
and delusional sense of mind. His
writings were not like any others because
he always wrote about the other side
of the world no one dare’s t touch
alien’s and the world ending at that
time. Now many writers have free-fall
writing about science fiction because of
our more sense on the science
fiction life. Wells can be responsible for why we
now talk about science
fiction, Because in this world many things are still to
be discovered and
taught about and some people are too scared and afraid to see
what is out
there and when Wells found science fiction a whole new door opened.
At
the time this made him different from many writers because of his
subjects
but he was just as good as good as some and better than a lot. His
sense and
wonder for science fiction made him unique and very fascinating to
the reader
world. At First people we scarred to read Wells writing because
they didn’t
know what to expect from a science fiction writer but once they
got a hold of
his first book they were fascinated, and that’s how Wells
succeeded. H.G.Wells
had a past that was similar to many great writers but
his unique backgrounds
made him different. Wells was born in Bombay, Kent in
1866.(Geocities.com). His
father was a shopkeeper, even though being a
shopkeeper wasn’t a great job'
during those times but Wells father had a
family to tend too so he had to do
what he had to do. His mother on the other
hand served from time to time and,
also was a housekeeper at the newly
estate. His father’s business failed and
to elevate the family to middle
class status, Wells apprenticed like his
brothers to a draper, spending the
years between the years of 1880 and 1883 in
Wilson and South
sea.(kirjasto.sci.fi/hgwells.com) His career as an author was
fostered by
unfortunate accident as a young child. He broke his leg in 4 places
and spent
a mandatory of the time resting and reading almost every book he
could
find(kirjasto.sci.fi/hgwells.htm). In 1883 Wells became a teacher/pupil
at
Midwest Grammar School. He was a very good teacher and many of
students and
staff seen him as a good and great teacher because of his ways
he carried on his
teaching and the was he taught his literary work. He
obtained a scholarship to
the Normal School of Science in London and studied
their biology under T. H.
Huxley.(kirjasto.sci.fi/hgwells.htm) He majored
in biology and science and
earned his degrees, this had a lot to do with how
he got his knowledge for
science fiction books and why he was so good at his
work. However his intent
fluted and in 1887, he left without a degree. He
taught in private schools for
four years, not taking his Bachelor’s degree
until 1890. The next year he
settled in London and by accident he married his
cousin. Her name was Isabel,
unfortunately he fell in love with her and
forced her to marry him, but when he
found out it was his cousin he had to
let her go. Wells continued his career as
a teacher in a correspondence
college but for the next year, he became a full
time writer and he did what
he loved to do. As a novelist Wells made his debut
book called "The Time
Machine" a book of great english novel that showed a
lot of people what
science fiction was all about. Wells had many more novels to
write but the
book he wrote "The Time Machine" boosted his career and helped
people to
realize what he was capable of and what to expect in the future. H.
G.
Wells was a suspense grabber and he knew how to grab the reader and
make the
reader feel as if he or she was seeing the real thing as they read.
For example
On Halloween night in 1938 Orson Wells and the Mercury
Theater broadcasted a
dramatization of H.G. Wells’ famous tale "War of The
Worlds" which
recounted a Martians invasion of the Earth. The adaptation
includes realistic
radio news bulletins informing listeners of the developing
saga. A music program
was interrupted to brief listeners that an alien object
had landed in Grover’
s Mill, N. J. "News Announcers" describe the terrifying
events as they
unfold. Although Wells informed listeners at the start of the
program that they
were listening to a fictional radio drama, thousands of
listeners who tuned in
late believed the Earth was indeed under alien attack
and panic soon
followed.(www.ecyclopedia.com) Wells claimed that the
broadcast was never
intended to fool people or trick them but he wished to
present a great Halloween
tale. It was, he said, "the Mercury Theater’s own
radio version of dressing
upon a sheet and jumping out of a bush saying
‘boo!" In either case, it
turned out to be one the biggest Halloween stories
ever told. The whole episode
tries to illustrate a number of things about
mass psychology, but also about the
willingness of people in the 1930’s to
believe that we are not alone in the
universe and for that it made Wells’
story seem so interesting and come to
life. Stories he wrote he intended to
grab the reader and make them believe what
they are reading and what the
whole suspense of the stories would be all about.
Well’s was a great
writer because of how he did his work he didn’t just go
right into the
suspense he just tip toed you into the excitement of the story
which made it
so great for his writing to be put together. Well's skills of
science helped
him extend his imagination towards his writing many people said
that the
science may have not been accurate, but the adventure towards the
philosophy
in those books makes Wells early science fiction books fascinating
and
exciting to read. Before the "War of the Worlds" Wells had many
novels that
were very popular. One novel was the great book "The Time
Machine" which
was a story about a time traveler that travels back into the
time 802701 ad
find two magnificent people, the Eloi; weak and little, who lived
above
ground and the Morlocks, carnivorous creatures that live below ground. All
of
the realism of the was achieved by carefully studied technical details.
The
technical details of the story made this novel one of the best that Well
is
achieved but the novel was not as big as some of the others that were
written.
As Wells life went on, he wrote stories such as "The Island of
Dr.
Moreau."(kirjasto.sci.fi/hgwells.htm) This story had dramatic effects
of
horror as well as comedy. The novel was about a mad scientist who
transformed
real animals into real human creatures. Many people thought this
novel was his
best, but some still felt different. The next novel was "The
Invisible
Man." This was Faustian story of a scientist who tampered with
nature in
pursuit of superhuman powers.(kirjasto.sci.fi/hgwells.htm) Nothing
like this was
brought into the novel scene until Well's start writing novels
and stories about
this supernatural stuff and the science fiction world. What
is unique and
interesting about this novel, it was so good that it was turned
into a movie
later down the line. Wells gained a lot of knowledge and respect
for his books
he wrote. But he was shortly recognized after a book was
published, but he tried
his hardest to get his achievement and
acknowledgment, so every story he wrote
was better than the last. Wells was
rumored to have worked with one of the
greatest authors ever known other than
his self. French novelist Jules Verne, a
great French author who was rumored
to have criticized Wells work. The two
worked together and traded comments
and ideas about the book (geocities.com).
Afterwards Well's wrote "The
First Man on the Moon" which was a
prophetic description of the methodology
of space flight. After succeeding in
that book, Wells went further and wrote
the "War in the Air". This was
about a hybrid that places Kipps-like Cockney
hero in the context of a
catastrophic aerial war
(www.kirjasto.sci.fi/h.g.wells.htm.) Although Wells
novels were highly
entertaining, he also tried to pave way for a wiser attitude
about the future
of mankind. After writing "The First Men on the Moon"
and the "War In the
Air" Wells was dissatisfied with his literary
work. This turn in his life he
wrote "Love and Mr. Lewisham". In
addition, during change in Wells's life
"The New Machiavelli" which
was a story about the outbreak of the war in 1914
(www.kirjasto.sci.fi/h.g.wells.htm).
Wells was involved in a love affair
with the young English author Rebecca West,
which influenced his work and
life deeply. Rebecca changed him in many ways.
Wells next novel was "The
outline of History which became very popular.
Here is a very popular
quote from that novel, "The professional military
mind is by necessity an
inferior and unimaginative mind; nominee of high
intellectual quality would
willingly imprison his gifts in such calling."
This quote along with his
many novels gave Wells a good reputation and he became
kind of a celebrity.
In 1917 he was a member of Research Committee for the
League of Nations
and published several books about the world organization. In
the early
1920's, he was a labor candidate for Parliament. Between the years
1924
and 1933, Wells lived mainly in France. From 1934 to 1946, he was
the
International president of Pen. In 1934, he had discussions with both
Stalin and
Roosevelt, trying to recruit them to his world-saving schemes.
However, he
despaired of the whole business when the global war broke the
peace for the
second time. Wells was a very high achiever and succeeded
through life doing
what he did best, write (this whole paragraph
www.kirjasto.sci.fi/.h.g.wells.htm).
During Wells later years, he still
kept the books rolling and best sellers
coming. Wells Last book "Mind at the
End of it’s Tether in 1945, this
book expressed pessimism about mankind's
future prospects in life. The book
touched on the base of what Wells believed
the world was going to be about in
the future after Wells died. Wells
standpoint in this book was to show that the
world was headed and how he seen
the world developing. Most people believed that
when he wrote this book, that
the whole point was not just to make people scared
or anything like that but
to wake up the reader and give them a thought of the
world in the future.
This gave most readers a thrill on how they seen the book
and pin pointed
each individual standout of the book contrasting towards the
development of
the book. On August 13th, 1946, Herbert George Wells died of a
massive heart
attack in London, England.(www.kirjasto.sci.fi/hgwells.htm) Even
after his
death, the people still remember his work and well being towards the
book
world. Even today many authors keep the respect they gained from Wells
by
reading his books and great novels. Wells will always be know as the
father of
modern science
fiction.