Name: The Time Machine
Author: H. G. Wells
ISBN: 9780191017117

The Time Machine

H. G. Wells

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Author Description

'So, in the end, above ground you must have the Haves, pursuing pleasure and comfort and beauty, and below ground the Have-nots, the Workers...' At a Victorian dinner party, in Richmond, London, the Time Traveller returns to tell his extraordinary tale of mankind's future in the year 802,701 AD. It is a dystopian vision of Darwinian evolution, with humans split into an above-ground species of Eloi, and their troglodyte brothers. The first book H. G. Wells published, The Time Machine is a scientific romance that helped invent the genre of science fiction and the time travel story. Even before its serialisation had finished in the spring of 1895, Wells had been declared 'a man of genius', and the book heralded a fifty year career of a major cultural and political controversialist. It is a sardonic rejection of Victorian ideals of progress and improvement and a detailed satirical commentary on the Decadent culture of the 1890s. This edition features a contextual introduction, detailed explanatory notes, and two essays Wells wrote just prior to the publication of his first book.

Menrva's Summary

THE PULSE

A Victorian inventor constructs a device to traverse the fourth dimension, only to discover the grim evolutionary trajectory of the human race in the distant future. The protagonist, known as the Time Traveller, seeks to witness the pinnacle of human achievement but instead encounters a bifurcated society in the year 802,701 AD. He must navigate the physical dangers posed by the subterranean Morlocks while attempting to understand the fragile, childlike existence of the surface-dwelling Eloi. The narrative framework utilizes a frame story, where the Traveller recounts his experiences to a group of skeptical dinner guests in London.

INSIDE THE PAGES

First-person retrospective narration
Exploration of social Darwinism and class stratification
Speculative depiction of post-human evolution
Integration of scientific theory with speculative fiction
Satirical critique of Victorian industrial progress
Atmospheric descriptions of a decaying future landscape
Philosophical inquiry into the nature of time and entropy
Use of the frame narrative to establish credibility and skepticism

THE COLLECTIVE ECHO

Readers and critics frequently identify this work as a foundational text that established the conventions of the time travel subgenre. Discussion often centers on the author's bleak interpretation of evolutionary theory and how it reflects the anxieties of the late nineteenth century. Many highlight the effectiveness of the contrast between the Eloi and the Morlocks as a critique of contemporary class divisions. The pacing is noted for its efficiency, moving quickly from the initial scientific premise to the visceral experience of the future. The work remains a subject of analysis for its influence on subsequent dystopian literature and its enduring commentary on the limits of human progress.

Page Count:
160

Publication Date:
2016-01-01

Publisher:
OUP Oxford

ISBN-10:
0191017116

ISBN-13:
9780191017117

Dystopian

Science Fiction

English

Science Fiction

English & College Success

Speculative Fiction

classic