The author Herbert George Wells Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) was born in London, where his father was an unsuccessful shopkeeper. His early life is reflected in the struggles1 of the main characters of his novels. After two unhappy years as an apprentice2, Wells became a student assistant at Midhurst Grammar School. From here, in 1884, he won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science, London. Before taking a degree in zoology in 1890, he became a school teacher again. After an accident which damaged his kidneys, he decided that he would become a writer. His first full-length works were textbooks of biology and geography. In 1891 he married his cousin Isabel, but it was an unhappy marriage. His second marriage in 1895 to Amy Robbins lasted all his life. He was, like his friend George B. Shaw, an active member of the Fabian Society and a man deeply interested in the political problems of his time. A brilliant, highly imaginative and productive writer, he published about fifty novels that can be divided into three groups corresponding approximately to three distinct phases in his literary career. The first group are his scientific or fantastic romances, in the manner of Jules Verne, but on a higher level of artistic realization. His literary career began with the publication of his first major novel, The Time Machine (1895), followed by The Island of Dr Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), The War of the Worlds (1898), When the Sleeper Wakes (1899), The First Men in the Moon (1901). These novels are about the impact of alien races or advanced science on established society and their heroes are often nameless and powerless in the face of natural forces. Because of their satire and their implicit note of warning, these 1. struggles: fights, efforts to achieve something. 2. apprentice: a young person who works for an employer for a fixed period of time in order to learn the particular skills needed in their job. 9