Select Conversations with an Uncle (Now Extinct) and Two Other Reminiscences

First published in 1895, “Select Conversations with an Uncle” constitutes Wells' first literary publication in the form of a book. It comprises accounts of twelve fictional conversations with a witty uncle who has recently come back from South Africa, returning with some degree of affluence. It also contains two other conversations on aestheticism and physiognomy entitled “A Misunderstood Artist” and “The Man with a Nose” respectively. Contents include: “Of Conversation And The Anatomy Of Fashion”, “The Theory Of The Perpetual Discomfort Of Humanity”, “The Use Of Ideals”, “The Art Of Being Photographed”, “Bagshot's Mural Decorations”, “On Social Music”, “The Joys Of Being Engaged”, “La Belle Dame Sans Merci”, “On A Tricycle”, “An Unsuspected”, “Masterpiece”, and more. Herbert George Wells (1866 – 1946) was a prolific English writer who wrote in a variety of genres, including the novel, politics, history, and social commentary. Today, he is perhaps best remembered for his contributions to the science fiction genre thanks to such novels as “The Time Machine” (1895), “The Invisible Man” (1897), and “The War of the Worlds” (1898). Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this book now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.

Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946), known primarily as H. G. Wells, was a prolific English writer in many genres, including the novel, history, politics, and social commentary, and textbooks and rules for war games. He is now best remembered for his science fiction novels, and Wells is called the father of science fiction, along with Jules Verne and Hugo Gernsback. His most notable science fiction works include The Time Machine(1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898). Wells' earliest specialized training was in biology, and his thinking on ethical matters took place in a specifically and fundamentally Darwinian context. He was also from an early date an outspoken socialist, often (but not always, as at the beginning of the First World War) sympathising with pacifist views. His later works became increasingly political and didactic, and he wrote little science fiction, while he sometimes indicated on official documents that his profession was that of journalist. Novels like Kipps and The History of Mr Polly, which describe lower-middle-class life, led to the suggestion, when they were published, that he was a worthy successor to Charles Dickens, but Wells described a range of social strata and even attempted, in Tono-Bungay (1909), a diagnosis of English society as a whole.