Time Machine : The Story of H. G. Wells

Explores the personal life and literary career of the wide-ranging British author known for his science fiction, histories, and novels.

Boerst's biography will surprise readers familiar with Wells's tales of adventure and war. This spirited, original novelist was ``argumentative in nature, often allowing his temper to interfere with clear thinking.'' His life was fraught with sexual escapades, and he had an overriding dedication to the creation of a one-world government and the propagation of socialist policies. Grossly unproductive as a draper's apprentice, he turned to the world of academics, but his rebellious nature and outspoken preference for socialism led to his expulsion. Wells then developed a writing routine that resulted in countless novels about natural science, ecology, history, philosophy, religion, sexuality and morality, socialism, and wars. His goal was ``to convince people to act and think in new ways''; to that end he often purposefully inserted a strong and radical social message in his work to shake up the old order. Boerst offers a glimpse into his subject's scandalous private life and his controversial social philosophies, while numerous black-and-white photographs of Wells's lovers are testament to his belief in open marriage, and the annotated bibliography eloquently demonstrates his vision. (chronology, glossary, bibliography, index) (Biography. 12-14) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Grade 8 Up-Wells was a complex man who lived an unconventional life. Best remembered for his science fiction (War of the Worlds and Time Machine), he wrote and spoke extensively on history, education, science, socialism, and politics. Married twice, he conducted an "open marriage" with his second wife, Amy Catherine Robbins, and had numerous mistresses and illegitimate children. His views on male-female liberation, atomic warfare, education, ecology, and environmentalism were often considered "radical" and ahead of his time. Boerst's prose is matter-of-fact and workmanlike. The author condenses Wells's life into a mere 94 pages, and the result is a dry succession of dates, facts, and quotations. Readers will come away with only a glimpse of the man and little real understanding of the social causes he espoused, the controversy they generated, and the succession of women with whom he was involved.
Jennifer Ralston, Harford County Public Library, Belcamp, MD
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This succinct biography, written for the World Writers series, introduces H. G. Wells: his difficult childhood, miserable apprenticeships, romantic liaisons, scientific interests, political views, and his career as a writer. The many quotations from Wells' Experiment in Autobiography give a sense of his voice as well as his views on many subjects. Boerst concludes that though Wells was considered "the father of science fiction," he would probably have preferred to be remembered as "a great thinker on social issues." Black-and-white illustrations, primarily portrait photographs, appear throughout the text. Appendixes include bibliographies of Wells' books and those written about him, source notes, a time line, and a glossary. Carolyn Phelan