Wells of romance, as well as ideas

Press, 16 August 1980, Page 17

Wells of romance, as well as ideas

An H. G. Wells Companion. By J. R. Hammond. Macmillan, 1979. 288 PP. $42.

(Reviewed by

A. J. Curry)

As founder and secretary of the H. G- Wells Society, and author of a bibliography of Wells’s Mr Hammond is well qualified to provide - this comprehensive and critical study of Wells’s fiction. H. G. Wells was , a.- prolific writer who produced, during.a span of 50 years, 30 novels,, an:equal- number of scientific.romances, and 70 short stories, as well, as a considerable number of political arid sociological works, _ and journalistic pieces?

The purpose of this guide is to provide a key to Wells’s fiction only. His non-fiction works are . not included in the survey because to do so would have resulted in a book of unmanageable length, and because ' of all Wells’s works, those of fiction have proved to be the most durable .and popular. The survey is divided into six parts. In Part I readers are given a useful andicomprehensive account of the background to the fiction, and some estimation of Wells’s literary reputation. In Part II is ah alphabetically arranged guide to the titles of all the novels,

romances, short stories, and fictional essays, while Parts 111, IV and V deal with the short stories, romances, and novels respectively. The origins of the works are stated, and a critical appreciation of each work is given. Part VI consists of a key to the characters of fiction and locations, and an appendix lists the principal film versions of the novels and stories. A select bibliography, which also subjects each work listed to critical study, closes this most useful companion. '■Although this book will appeal most to those who already have an interest in Wells, it would be a pity if it were restricted to just those people. Unfortunately Wells is remembered chiefly as a writer of science fiction. “The Time Machine” and “The War of the Worlds” come immediately to ■ mind, and the term ‘Wellsian” bears almost the same overtones as “1984.” This is a pity, because Wells wrote some of the finest novels in the dissenting tradition of Dickens and Thackeray: "Love and Mr Lewisham,” "Kipps,” f ‘TonoBungay” and “The History of Mr Polly” are among them. In a different vein, Wells wrote some delightful romances which have a nostalgic charm of their own. Cyclists, for example, are immediately drawn to the character of Mr Hoopdriver, in the

novel “The Wheels of Chance,” who sets off in August, 1895, on a cycling holiday through Surrey. and Sussex having recently learned to ride the bicycle. Mr Hoopdriver stood for all those working class people whose lives were immeasurably changed by the advent of the bicycle. He conveys that sense, which older cyclists have told me about, of a feeling of adventure, alone as they were on the roads, which has long since disappeared. Wells was chiefly concerned with writing as a means .of conveying his many ideas and the novel was, above all, a vehicle for these ideas. Some.of them were relevant only to. the society of the day, and as a consequence are of little interest to today’s readers. But his novels of this kind are few and he 'would doubtless be surprised to learn that “The Time Machine” is still in print 80 years after its original publication. He believed.that the novel had a place to play in society, that it was the medium not for describing life, but for discussing it. Wells’s fiction deserves a greater appreciation than it has hitherto received and this excellent companion will do much to ensure that it gets it. The price of $42 is large, but commensurate with the work which has obviously.gone into:the book.