This volume contains a generous selection of the tales of H. G.
Wells, some of them famous, some forgotten. They demonstrate his immense
imaginative energy, his originality, his prophetic genius, and his
mastery of a range embracing Gothic horror, social satire, lyrical
reverie and Utopian fantasy.


Here Wells predicts the use of the tank, the aeroplane, the parachute
and the bathysphere; he depicts the arrival of monsters from the deep,
and envisages the destruction of life on our planet. Nevertheless, in
social comedy, Wells anticipates E. M. Forster. We also see why Wells
proved to be a provocation and inspiration not only to numerous
science-fiction writers but also to such eminent authors as Vladimir
Nabokov, Jorge Luis Borges and William Golding.


Entertaining, disturbing, astonishing and thought-provoking, these tales constitute a Wellsian cornucopia. Enjoy!