H.G. Wells - the writer in Woking

H.G. Wells the writer in Woking

Living in Woking worked extremely well for Wells the writer, as he himself admitted:  ‘There I planned and wrote the War of the Worlds and the Invisible Man’.  In fact, this was an understatement.  While living in Woking Wells saw the publication of The Time Machine, completed The Island of Dr. Moreau, wrote and published both The Wonderful Visit and a pioneering cycling novel The Wheels of Chance. Finally, he began writing When the Sleeper Wakes, another science fiction story, and Love and Mr Lewisham.  In brief, Wells’ ‘Woking period’ resulted in several of his bestselling, most famous and enduring books alongside a wide range of journalism and short stories.

Looking back in 1898, Wells recorded that during the past few years he had been a creative writer working ‘at a ghastly pace’ and ‘writing away for dear life’ to make his name and fortune.  By the time he left Woking his career as a full time writer was – to quote from his autobiography - ‘Fairly Launched At Last’: ‘We were “getting on” ’.  Moreover, he was earning a substantial income.  Reportedly, his 1896 literary earnings of £1,056 are worth £118,000 in present-day terms!

Other titles written by Wells include The First Men in the Moon (1901), Kipps (1905) and The History of Mr Polly (1910).  Wells’ non-fiction writing includes his international best seller The Outline of History (1920).

Select list of his writing

1878

Wells   wrote an illustrated comic book The   Desert Daisy

1895

As a   novelist Wells made his debut with The   Time Machine, a parody of English class division and a satirical warning   that human progress is not inevitable

1895

The Wonderful Visit

1896

The Wheels of Chance was written at the height of the cycling craze (1890–1905), when   practical, comfortable bicycles first became widely and cheaply available and   before the rise of the automobile.

1896

Wells contemplates the ideas of nature and nurture and   questions humanity in books such as The Island of Doctor Moreau.

1897

The Invisible Man

1898

War   of the Worlds

1899

When the Sleeper Wakes

1900

Love and Mr Lewisham

1901

The First Men in the Moon

1902

The Sea Lady

1903

Mankind in The Making

1911

Wells also wrote dozens of short stories and novellas,   the best known of which is “The Country   of The Blind”

1905

A Modern Utopia

1905

Kipps: The story of a simple soul

1906

In the Days of the Comet

1908

The War In the Air

1910

Tono-Bungay and The History Of Mr Polly

1911

Floor Games

1913

Little Wars is recognised   today as the first recreational war games and Wells is regarded by gamers and   hobbyists as "the Father of Miniature War Gaming

1914

The World set Free

1920

The Outline of History

1923

Men like Gods

1930

The Science of Life

1930

The Autocracy of Mr Parham

1931

Happiness of Mankind

1933

Wells predicted in The Shape of Things to Come   that the world war he feared would begin in January 1940, a prediction which   ultimately came true four months early, when the Second World War broke out   in September 1939

1939

The Holy Terror