H.G. Wells (1866-1946) has long been one of my favorite authors, entirely due to his early “science fiction” classics. I read Richard Costa's analysis to determine how Wells' other writings compare, and to seek other novels of his to explore.

As part of Twayne's English Authors Series, this book explores the life and literary works of HG Wells. Its author, Richard Hauer Costa was a Professor of English at Texas A&M University, and has previously written short books on Somerset Maugham and on Edmund Wilson (both of which I have read). In his introduction, Costa notes that this is the second edition of this book. At the time of its first publication, Wells’ literary reputation had been discredited by Mark Schorer. (Schorer seems to have made a career of trying to diminish the stature of literary figures, having tried to trash the novelist Sinclair Lewis in a massive, book length hatchet-job). Costa acknowledges that his first edition did not fully succeed in rescuing Wells’ reputation, and wrote this revision to qualify Schorer’s influential verdict. In doing so, Costa draws on revised views of Wells’ writing and on his scientific thinking, and gives greater attention to his crusade for the rights of women.

Costa’s examination begins with a biographical summary, and then considers Wells’ writings in several categories. First he considers the science fiction novels for which Wells is so well-known – The Time Machine (published in 1895), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), War of the Worlds (1898) , The Invisible Man (1898), and First Men on the Moon (1901). For each, Costa considers plots and themes of the works. Next, the short stories are considered. Costa suggests that Wells’ knowledge of science gave him a standpoint for writing stories of a kind that Kipling, Poe, and Maupassant could not. In successive chapters, Costa considers such novels as Kipps and The History of Mr. Polly (which Costa labels “the comic novels”), his transitional works First and Last Things and Tono Bungay, and his (semi-) feminist novels The New Machiavelli, Ann Veronica, Marriage, and Passionate Friends. With regard to the last three of these , Costa asserts, “Wells did more than any novelist until [D.H.] Lawrence to bring women’s rights (and female rites) out of the closet. He showed female sexuality as a healthy expression of self, and he preached full freedom for women to confront their passionate natures, even as he partook of them.” With respect to the latter phrase, Costa refers to Well’s practice of sexual freedom in his personal life, a freedom relatively unconstrained by marriage. In ensuing chapters Costa explores Wells’ autobiography, his scientific writing, and the several novels Wells wrote towards the end of his career. The penultimate chapter considers published literary criticism of Wells’ work, and is followed by an Afterword that reflects on his legacy, plus a bibliography that includes secondary sources and works of literary criticism.

In his summary, Costa concludes: “He was a great writer who did not always write well. He made his reputation with – and will be longest remembered for – scientific fantasies which he never took seriously” (p. 148). Of his later fiction, Costa found much of it “unreadable”, noting that “The demise of nearly all of Wells’ fiction after The Undying Fire (1919) cannot be seriously debated.” By this adverse assessment, the last quarter century of Wells’ career yielded nothing of lasting value. In this respect (I infer), Wells arguably is similar to the American writer Sinclair Lewis.

As mentioned, one reason I was interested in Costa’s book was to see what else of Well’s writing might interest me. Frankly, with the possible exception of Wells’ An Experiment in Autobiography, I found nothing that caught my interest in the works that I haven’t already read. For that reason, I’m glad I read Costa’s contribution to the Twayne series.

According to an oft- repeated anecdote, HG Wells was speaking about his books with W. Somerset Maugham one day. “They’re as dead as mutton, you know,” he cheerfully told Maugham while stroking a volume of his complete works. “They all dealt with matters of topical interest and now that the matters aren’t topical any more they’re unreadable.” I would cheerfully disagree in one important respect. His early science fantasy novels live on – ironically so, since Wells himself held them in low regard, and explicitly sought to leave the genre behind for the sake of his comic and social novels. The fact remains that these works – (such as The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Invisible Man ) have thrilled generations of readers; spawned science fiction as a genre; and inspired movies, radio plays (such as Orson Wells’ famous version of War of the Worlds), and many a novel and short story by admiring authors. These works surely will continue to be read as long as people read fiction. ( )