Short biography of HG Wells

Herbert George Wells, now much more widely known simply as H.G.Wells, is one of the best writers England has ever produced. A more than competent writer in a number of subjects, Wells is now most well known for his science fiction work; indeed he is known as one of the “Fathers of Science Fiction,” but his non-fiction work on science and history were also best sellers in his day.

Wells was born on the Sept. 21,1866 in Bromley, Kent, and was the youngest of four children. His father, Joseph Wells, was a professional cricketer and shopkeeper, whilst his mother, Sarah Neal, was a maid. His upbringing was a poor one; the china shop his father owned was unsuccessful, whilst the wages of a cricketer were unreliable. To increase their income Sarah returned to her job as a maid, though this meant living apart from her husband and child.

HG Wells 1890 - F Hollyer - PD-life-70

Wells received a basic education at a local school, but it was through an accident that Wells developed a love of reading and writing. At the age of 7, Wells broke his leg, and whilst recuperating, he read every book that he could lay his hands on, and he was soon immersed in the writer’s imagined worlds. For a few years Wells attended the Thomas Morley Commercial Academy. Though a private school, Wells often stated that the teaching was erratic at best and focused on learning trade skills. Wells was forced to leave the school in 1880 when his father was unable to afford the school fees, a broken leg effectively ending his cricketing career.

To earn some money, Wells was forced into an apprenticeship as a draper, a cloth merchant, and whilst he disliked the work it did provide future material for his writing. Failing as a draper, he had a brief stint as a chemist, before acquiring a role as a student-teacher at Midhurst Grammar School.

In 1883, Wells won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science in London, a school which eventually became the Royal College of Science. Wells studied biology and Darwinism, and soon came under the tuition of the famous T.H. Huxley. Inspired by Huxley, Wells developed a strong interest in evolution, which again came through in his later writings. The scholarship given to him allowed him a comfortable living at the school, with no need to seek additional employment, Wells used his spare time to help found the Science School Journal and he also joined the debating society; the latter of which helped develop a socialist outlook to his political views. Wells’ time at university though was cut short in 1887 when his scholarship was stopped as Wells failed his geology exams.
Leaving school without any income could have proved tough, though his aunt came to his rescue, allowing him to live in her house. To provide an income, Wells began tutoring, a job which allowed him time to study for his Zoology BSc from the University of London, which he gained in 1890. Tutoring also allowed him to write, and in 1891 his first essay was published.

Wells was married for the first time in 1891, when he married his cousin, Isabel Mary Wells. This marriage lasted less than four years, as Wells left Isabel for one of the students he had been tutoring, Amy Catherine Robbins. Wells married Amy in 1895, and they had two sons, George Philip, born in 1901, and Frank Richard, born in 1903. Wells though was not known for his faithfulness, and was known to have had a number of affairs, two of which resulted in further offspring. The writer Amber Reeves, produced Wells a daughter, Anna-Jane, in 1909, whilst the feminist novelist Rebecca West, gave birth to Anthony West in 1914.

HG Wells 1943 - Yousuf Karshn -

Wells had started to write some short stories, in addition to his science essays, but it was the publication of his first novel in 1895, that saw his writing career commence. 1895 saw the publication of “The Time Machine” and “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” both classed as scientific romances.
Wells soon became the most successful writer of the day, with his fame also spreading across the Atlantic to the United States. In America “The War of the Worlds” (1898) and “First Man on the Moon” (1901) were both serialised in Cosmopolitan magazine, as well as other work appearing in Collier’s Magazine and the Saturday Evening Post.

Over time, his writing deviated from science fiction to novels of social commentary, although there was a large amount of prophecy or futuristic input. Whilst it is mostly his science fiction novels that are read today, his historic non-fiction work was equally well received.

The “Outline of History” published in 1920, was a best-selling work, and did a lot to popularise history, which was followed in 1922 by the abridged work “A Short History of Time.” Due to the popularity of Wells, both have recently been republished.

At the same time has his history work, Wells also wrote about social topics, including the 1933 “The Shape of Things to Come” and “The New World Order.” Wells was a lifelong socialist, as well as an advocate for women’s rights; in fact, Wells briefly joined the Fabian Society, although he was seen as too radical by one of the founders, George Bernard Shaw. Unlike many socialists, he wasn’t a pacifist, and writing during World War I, wrote on the side of war. Ironically, many of his early science fiction works had predicted the invention of the tank.

After the First World War, Wells pushed for the formation of the League of Nations, although he quickly became disillusioned with it, just as he became disillusioned with the Russian Communist revolution. Wells was appalled by the outbreak of the Second World War, and his last book, “Mind at the End of its Tether” (1945), advocates the idea that humanity should be replaced by another species.

Due to Wells’ outspoken beliefs on a number of issues, and the popularity of his fiction work, meant that throughout his writing life, Wells was in demand by the popular media, to comment and contribute to newspapers and magazines.

One of the most famous facts about Wells’ though has nothing directly to do with his writing; Wells’ name appeared on the same Nazi death list as Winston Churchill. In the event of England being invaded by Germany, Wells would have been shot, partly for being a socialist and party for overseeing the expulsion of the German literary body from the International group in 1934, due to their racist views.

Having lived in London throughout the Second World War, Wells died on Aug. 13, 1946, shortly before his 80th birthday. It should be noted there is no epitaph stating “I told you so. You damned fools,” despite Wells’ wishes, as Wells was cremated and the ashes scattered from an aeroplane.
Wells has transcended the literary world, and he has appeared as a character in science fiction programmes, most notably with several appearances in “Doctor Who” and “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.” His influence on Science Fiction is still apparent today, with recent Hollywood versions of “The Time Machine” and “War of the Worlds.”

The “War of the Worlds” remains one of the favourite science fictions books of all time. There are of course inaccuracies in the work, but there is a depth to characters and descriptions that ensures the work is as readable today as it was a hundred years ago.

Copyright - First Published 25th February 2008