H. G. Wells: Another Kind Of Life

Author: Michael Sherborne

There are more books about H.G. Wells than any other science fiction writer, and it's not hard to see why. He led an extraordinary life: he had affairs with a succession of strong women like Rebecca West (there are biographies devoted to his sex life); he joined and fell out with the Fabian Society (there are biographies devoted to his political life); he befriended and fell out with writers like Henry James and Joseph Conrad (there are biographies devoted to his literary status); and among all of this he practically invented 20th century science fiction. With so much to choose from, this is the biography we would choose because it pays most attention to Wells the writer without ignoring everything else going on in his life. The author of The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man and The First Men in the Moon has a unique importance in the history of science fiction. And this is the biography that best conveys and explains that importance. And it does so in a wonderfully readable and engaging way.