The Young H.G. Wells: Changing the World
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- Create Date：2021-11-01 00:51:02
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Claire Tomalin
- ISBN：0241239974
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Summary
A fascinating journey into the early life of H。G。 Wells， the father of science fiction， from one of Britain's best biographers
How did the first forty years of H。G Wells' life shape a fantastic writer into a visionary？
Claire Tomalin's remarkable and empathic biography， focusing on HG Wells' early life， offers a new understanding of one of Britain's most influential writers。 From his impoverished childhood in a working-class English family， to his determination to educate himself at any cost， to the serious ill health that dominated his twenties and thirties， and the sudden success of The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds which transformed his life and catapulted him to international fame - Claire Tomalin paints a fascinating portrait of a man， a misfit， a socialist， a futurist and a writer whose new and imaginative worlds continue to inspire today。
'The finest of biographers' Hilary Mantel
'A most intelligent and sympathetic biographer' Daily Telegraph
'One of the best biographers of her generation' Guardian
How did the first forty years of H。G Wells' life shape a fantastic writer into a visionary？
Claire Tomalin's remarkable and empathic biography， focusing on HG Wells' early life， offers a new understanding of one of Britain's most influential writers。 From his impoverished childhood in a working-class English family， to his determination to educate himself at any cost， to the serious ill health that dominated his twenties and thirties， and the sudden success of The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds which transformed his life and catapulted him to international fame - Claire Tomalin paints a fascinating portrait of a man， a misfit， a socialist， a futurist and a writer whose new and imaginative worlds continue to inspire today。
'The finest of biographers' Hilary Mantel
'A most intelligent and sympathetic biographer' Daily Telegraph
'One of the best biographers of her generation' Guardian
Reviews
Julia Simpson-Urrutia
，
The name H。G。 Wells is more widely known than the names of other literary masters of the same era， if but for the movies based on H。G。 Wells’ titles。 He was a science fiction writer whose works The Time Machine and War of the Worlds offer readers escapism， thrills， and enough scientific foundation to have made him qualify as a visionary。 Tomalin demonstrates Wells’ hold on the young in her preface by describing how George Orwell， as a boy at boarding school， kept borrowing （sometimes without per The name H。G。 Wells is more widely known than the names of other literary masters of the same era， if but for the movies based on H。G。 Wells’ titles。 He was a science fiction writer whose works The Time Machine and War of the Worlds offer readers escapism， thrills， and enough scientific foundation to have made him qualify as a visionary。 Tomalin demonstrates Wells’ hold on the young in her preface by describing how George Orwell， as a boy at boarding school， kept borrowing （sometimes without permission） his friend Cyril Connolly’s （editor and essayist） copy of a book by Wells。Tomalin prepares us in her remark that the boys did not know （as we may not know） that Wells was an atheist， a socialist and a republican。 It did not matter to them because his futuristic scientific world full of possibilities seized upon the imagination。 We can relate。 The young Wells’ history is unexpected and endears him to us， which is important， for his treatment of others—particularly lovers and wives—can gall。 The highly successful 19th century white male writer was the rock star of his day， so he could get away with behavior that would not brand him as a cad and a bounder in his time。 （Although it did， actually， and for a long time Beatrix Webb could not see him socially。） His treatment of his long-suffering wife， Jane， is quite interesting。 Tomalin speaks well of her， but would anyone want such a fate for a daughter or herself？ Yet still spouses put up with such neglect and dismissal if only to pay their bills。In some ways， this might as well be a biography of significant writers and thinkers of the late 19th/turn of the 20th century， for the portrait Tomalin paints of Beatrice Webb （née Potter） is as fascinating as the one she colors in of Wells。 I loved Tomalin's apology for following the “young” Wells all the way to his death。 Her excuse was the adolescent behavior that gripped him throughout his life。 Agreed。It is charming to find Wells a hypocrite。 Such creativity cannot be without flaw。 If you are a reader of 19th century writers， you will value Tomalin’s exposé of the ever-transmuting relationships that existed between Wells， Shaw， Tolstoy， Henry James and more。 My one critique is with the sub-title。 To show how he “chang[ed] the world” would entail more of a textual analysis whereas this is a biography of success， ego and relationships。 。。。more
Nancy
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Claire Tomalin’s biography of the ‘young’ Wells offers a complicated man。 His rich imagination gave us iconic novels。 He developed his own political and social philosophy and lifestyle。 He was a man who tried to do too much， curtailing his work from perfection， and he was a man I often did not like。He had my sympathy when reading of his early years， the problems in his family and his struggles with ill health。 Like so many of his generation， he took up socialism as a vehicle for reform， and also Claire Tomalin’s biography of the ‘young’ Wells offers a complicated man。 His rich imagination gave us iconic novels。 He developed his own political and social philosophy and lifestyle。 He was a man who tried to do too much， curtailing his work from perfection， and he was a man I often did not like。He had my sympathy when reading of his early years， the problems in his family and his struggles with ill health。 Like so many of his generation， he took up socialism as a vehicle for reform， and also ideas of equality and free love。 And there is where I did not care for him， his seeking personal sexual satisfaction without responsibility to his mistresses （and resulting children）。 Yet， he seemed to be irresistible to women of intelligence and social standing， attracted to his fame or personal charisma。Unlike other biographies I have recently read， I did not feel the author demonstrated an attachment to her subject。 His life is competently laid out， the details of his writing and publishing life， his relationships with family， fellow writers， and women， his internal life and thoughts are all there。 I did not feel the love and respect some writers allow to show about their subject。I received a free egalley from the publisher through NetGalley。 My review is fair and unbiased。 。。。more
Sophia
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What sort of person is behind the creative and far-flung sci-fi and fantasy of such classics as The Time Machine， The Island of Doctor Moreau， and The War of the Worlds？ I was curious， too， so I eagerly took up this latest of Claire Tomalin’s biographies to read about the early life of a man who is one of literature’s greatest。My full review will post at Books of My Heart blog on Oct 31st。
Steve 'Rat'
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