The Author Herbert George Wells Herbert George Wells (18661946) was born in Bromley (Greater London), where his father was an unsuccessful shopkeeper. His difficult early life is reflected in the struggles1 of the protagonists of his novels. In 1874, he had a serious accident that left him bedridden2 for a long time, so he started reading books from the local library. They stimulated his desire to write and made him decide that he would become a writer. After two unhappy years as an apprentice3, 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 had started the life of a school teacher again. His first full-length works were biology and geography textbooks. In 1891 he began an unhappy marriage to his cousin Isabel; 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 Society4 and a man deeply concerned with5 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 includes 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), 1. struggle: fight, effort to achieve something. 2. bedridden: having to stay in bed because of illness or injury. 3. 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. 4. Fabian Society: a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism. As founders, of the Labour Party in 1900, it has influenced British policy to the present day. 5. concerned with: involved in, interested in. 4