The Time Machine (Penguin Classics) - Softcover

Wells, H.G.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141439971 ISBN 13: 9780141439976

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2005

Synopsis

Wells's genre-defining novel of time travel

When a Victorian scientist propels himself into the year a.d. 802,701, he is initially delighted to find that suffering has been replaced by beauty, contentment, and peace. Entranced at first by the Eloi, an elfin species descended from man, he soon realizes that these beautiful people are simply remnants of a once-great culture—now weak and childishly afraid of the dark. They have every reason to be afraid: in deep tunnels beneath their paradise lurks another race descended from humanity—the sinister Morlocks. And when the scientist’s time machine vanishes, it becomes clear he must search these tunnels if he is ever to return to his own era.

This edition includes a newly established text, a full biographical essay on Wells, a list of further reading, and detailed notes. Marina Warner’s introduction considers Wells’s development of the “scientific romance” and places the novel in the context of its time.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

About this title

From the Publisher

Webster’s paperbacks take advantage of the fact that classics are frequently assigned readings in English courses. By using a running English-to-Spanish thesaurus at the bottom of each page, this edition of The Time Machine by H.G. Wells was edited for three audiences. The first includes Spanish-speaking students enrolled in an English Language Program (ELP), an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) program, an English as a Second Language Program (ESL), or in a TOEFL® or TOEIC® preparation program. The second audience includes English-speaking students enrolled in bilingual education programs or Spanish speakers enrolled in English speaking schools. The third audience consists of students who are actively building their vocabularies in Spanish in order to take foreign service, translation certification, Advanced Placement® (AP®) or similar examinations. By using the Webster's Spanish Thesaurus Edition when assigned for an English course, the reader can enrich their vocabulary in anticipation of an examination in Spanish or English. TOEFL®, TOEIC®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which has neither reviewed nor endorsed this book. All rights reserved.

From the Back Cover

In The Time Machine Wells pioneers the concept of travel in the 'Fourth Dimension' and speculates about the ultimate decay of the human species. The world of the effete Eloi and ape-like Morlocks, the age of giant crabs, and the final portrayal of the heat-death of the sun constitute an unforgettable vision of the future. The Time Traveller's narrow escape from the remote descendants of humanity is paralleled by Edward Prendick's horrifying adventures among the Beast Folk of The Island of Doctor Moreau. Moreau, a ruthless vivisector, chooses an uninhabited Pacific island for his attempts to change animals into human beings on the operating table. Prendick soon fears that he, too, may become a victim of Moreau's experiments. Even at their most bleakly pessimistic and ironic, these stories testify to the resources of human courage and ingenuity. This edition offers authoritative texts of both novels, explanatory notes, and an introduction setting them in the context of Wells's life and thought.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0141439971
• ISBN 13: 9780141439976
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128
• Editor: Steve McLean, Parrinder Patrick