The son of a professional cricketer and a lady's maid, H. G. Wells served apprenticeships as a draper and a chemist's assistant before winning a scholarship to the prestigious Normal School of Science in London. While he is best remembered for his groundbreaking science fiction novels, including The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, and The Island of Doctor Moreau, Wells also wrote extensively on politics and social matters and was one of the foremost public intellectuals of his day.
Genres: Science Fiction, Literary Fiction, Thriller, Mystery
Novels
The Lord of the Dynamos (1894)
The Time Machine (1895)
The Wonderful Visit (1895)
The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896)
The Wheels of Chance (1896)
The Invisible Man (1897)
The War of the Worlds (1898)
Love and Mr Lewisham (1899)
When the Sleeper Wakes (1899)
aka The Sleeper Awakes
The First Men in the Moon (1901)
The Sea Lady (1902)
The Food of the Gods (1904)
Kipps (1905)
In the Days of the Comet (1906)
The War in the Air (1908)
Ann Veronica (1909)
Tono-Bungay (1909)
The History of Mr Polly (1910)
The New Machiavelli (1911)
Marriage (1912)
The Passionate Friends (1913)
The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman (1914)
The World Set Free (1914)
Bealby (1915)
Boon, The Mind Of The Race... (1915) (as by Reginald Bliss)
The Research Magnificent (1915)
Mr Britling Sees It Through (1916)
The Soul of a Bishop (1917)
Joan and Peter (1918)
The Undying Fire (1919)
The Secret Places of the Heart (1922)
Washington and the Hope of Peace (1922)
Men Like Gods (1923)
The Dream (1924)
Christina Alberta's Father (1925)
The World of William Clissold (1926)
Meanwhile (1927)
Mr Blettsworthy on Rampole Island (1928)
The King Who Was A King (1929)
The Autocracy of Mr Parham (1930)
The Bulpington of Blup (1932)
The Shape of Things to Come (1933)
The Croquet Player (1936)
The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936)
Apropos Of Dolores (1937)
Brynhild (1937)
The Camford Visitation (1937)
Star Begotten (1937)
The Brothers (1938)
The Holy Terror (1939)
All Aboard for Ararat (1940)
Babes In The Darkling Wood (1940)
You Can't Be Too Careful (1941)
The Time Machine (1895)
The Wonderful Visit (1895)
The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896)
The Wheels of Chance (1896)
The Invisible Man (1897)
The War of the Worlds (1898)
Love and Mr Lewisham (1899)
When the Sleeper Wakes (1899)
aka The Sleeper Awakes
The First Men in the Moon (1901)
The Sea Lady (1902)
The Food of the Gods (1904)
Kipps (1905)
In the Days of the Comet (1906)
The War in the Air (1908)
Ann Veronica (1909)
Tono-Bungay (1909)
The History of Mr Polly (1910)
The New Machiavelli (1911)
Marriage (1912)
The Passionate Friends (1913)
The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman (1914)
The World Set Free (1914)
Bealby (1915)
Boon, The Mind Of The Race... (1915) (as by Reginald Bliss)
The Research Magnificent (1915)
Mr Britling Sees It Through (1916)
The Soul of a Bishop (1917)
Joan and Peter (1918)
The Undying Fire (1919)
The Secret Places of the Heart (1922)
Washington and the Hope of Peace (1922)
Men Like Gods (1923)
The Dream (1924)
Christina Alberta's Father (1925)
The World of William Clissold (1926)
Meanwhile (1927)
Mr Blettsworthy on Rampole Island (1928)
The King Who Was A King (1929)
The Autocracy of Mr Parham (1930)
The Bulpington of Blup (1932)
The Shape of Things to Come (1933)
The Croquet Player (1936)
The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936)
Apropos Of Dolores (1937)
Brynhild (1937)
The Camford Visitation (1937)
Star Begotten (1937)
The Brothers (1938)
The Holy Terror (1939)
All Aboard for Ararat (1940)
Babes In The Darkling Wood (1940)
You Can't Be Too Careful (1941)
Collections
Select Conversations With An Uncle... (1895)
The Stolen Bacillus (1895)
The Red Room (1896)
The Plattner Story (1897)
Thirty Strange Stories (1897)
A Cure For Love (1899)
Tales of Space and Time (1899)
Twelve Stories and a Dream (1903)
The Country of the Blind (1911)
The Door In The Wall (1911)
The Star (1913)
Tales of the Unexpected (1922)
Tales Of Life and Adventure (1923)
Tales Of Wonder (1923)
The Empire Of The Ants (1925)
Selected Short Stories (1927)
The Short Stories of H G Wells (1927)
The Adventures Of Tommy (1929)
The Valley Of Spiders (1930)
The Stolen Body (1931)
The Favorite/Famous Short Stories Of H G Wells (1937)
Short Stories By H G Wells (1940)
The Inexperienced Ghost (1943)
The Land Ironclads (1943)
The New Accelerator (1943)
The Truth About Pyecraft (1943)
Twenty-Eight Science Fiction Stories (1952)
Seven Stories (1953)
Three Prophetic Science Fiction Novels of H. G. Wells (1960)
The Cone (1965)
Best Science Fiction Stories of H. G. Wells (1966)
The Complete Short Stories of H G Wells (1966)
Selected Stories of H. G. Wells (2004)
The Book Of Time (2011) (with Richard A Lupoff)
The War of the Worlds & Other Tales (2021)
The Stolen Bacillus (1895)
The Red Room (1896)
The Plattner Story (1897)
Thirty Strange Stories (1897)
A Cure For Love (1899)
Tales of Space and Time (1899)
Twelve Stories and a Dream (1903)
The Country of the Blind (1911)
The Door In The Wall (1911)
The Star (1913)
Tales of the Unexpected (1922)
Tales Of Life and Adventure (1923)
Tales Of Wonder (1923)
The Empire Of The Ants (1925)
Selected Short Stories (1927)
The Short Stories of H G Wells (1927)
The Adventures Of Tommy (1929)
The Valley Of Spiders (1930)
The Stolen Body (1931)
The Favorite/Famous Short Stories Of H G Wells (1937)
Short Stories By H G Wells (1940)
The Inexperienced Ghost (1943)
The Land Ironclads (1943)
The New Accelerator (1943)
The Truth About Pyecraft (1943)
Twenty-Eight Science Fiction Stories (1952)
Seven Stories (1953)
Three Prophetic Science Fiction Novels of H. G. Wells (1960)
The Cone (1965)
Best Science Fiction Stories of H. G. Wells (1966)
The Complete Short Stories of H G Wells (1966)
Selected Stories of H. G. Wells (2004)
The Book Of Time (2011) (with Richard A Lupoff)
The War of the Worlds & Other Tales (2021)
Novellas and Short Stories
The Chronic Argonauts (1888)
The Flying Man (1893)
Aepyornis Island (1894)
A Deal in Ostriches (1894)
The Diamond Maker (1894)
The Flowering of the Strange Orchid (1894)
In the Avu Observatory (1894)
The Jilting of Jane (1894)
Through a Window (1894)
The Triumphs of a Taxidermist (1894)
The Argonauts of the Air (1895)
A Catastrophe (1895)
Le Mari Terrible (1895)
The Moth (1895)
Pollock and the Porroh Man (1895)
The Reconciliation (1895)
The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes (1895)
The Temptation of Harringay (1895)
The Apple (1896)
In the Abyss (1896)
The Purple Pileus (1896)
The Rajah's Treasure (1896)
The Sea Raiders (1896)
A Slip Under the Microscope (1896)
Under the Knife (1896)
The Crystal Egg (1897)
The Lost Inheritance (1897)
A Story of the Days to Come (1897)
A Story of the Stone Age (1897)
Jimmy Goggles the God (1898)
Miss Winchelsea's Heart (1898)
A Vision of Judgement (1899)
A Dream of Armageddon (1901)
Filmer (1901)
The Magic Shop (1903)
The Beautiful Suit (1909)
The Sad Story of a Dramatic Critic (1915)
The Story of the Last Trump (1915)
The Wild Asses of the Devil (1915)
The Grisly Folk (1921)
The Treasure In The Forest (1929)
The Flying Man (1893)
Aepyornis Island (1894)
A Deal in Ostriches (1894)
The Diamond Maker (1894)
The Flowering of the Strange Orchid (1894)
In the Avu Observatory (1894)
The Jilting of Jane (1894)
Through a Window (1894)
The Triumphs of a Taxidermist (1894)
The Argonauts of the Air (1895)
A Catastrophe (1895)
Le Mari Terrible (1895)
The Moth (1895)
Pollock and the Porroh Man (1895)
The Reconciliation (1895)
The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes (1895)
The Temptation of Harringay (1895)
The Apple (1896)
In the Abyss (1896)
The Purple Pileus (1896)
The Rajah's Treasure (1896)
The Sea Raiders (1896)
A Slip Under the Microscope (1896)
Under the Knife (1896)
The Crystal Egg (1897)
The Lost Inheritance (1897)
A Story of the Days to Come (1897)
A Story of the Stone Age (1897)
Jimmy Goggles the God (1898)
Miss Winchelsea's Heart (1898)
A Vision of Judgement (1899)
A Dream of Armageddon (1901)
Filmer (1901)
The Magic Shop (1903)
The Beautiful Suit (1909)
The Sad Story of a Dramatic Critic (1915)
The Story of the Last Trump (1915)
The Wild Asses of the Devil (1915)
The Grisly Folk (1921)
The Treasure In The Forest (1929)
Non fiction
Honours Physiography (1893) (with R A Gregory)
Text-Book Of Biology/Zoology (1893)
Anticipations (1901)
Anticipations of the Reactions of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought (1901)
Mankind In The Making (1903)
A Modern Utopia (1905)
The Future In America (1906)
This Misery of Boots (1907)
Will Socialism Destroy the Home? (1907)
First and Last Things (1908)
Floor Games (1911)
The Great State (1912)
Great Thoughts From H. G. Wells (1912)
Little Wars (1913)
New Worlds For Old (1913)
An Englishman Looks At the World (1914)
The War That Will End War (1914)
The War and Socialism (1915)
What Is Coming? (1916)
God The Invisible King (1917)
Introduction To Nocturne (1917)
War and The Future (1917)
aka Italy, France, And Britain At War
In The Fourth Year (1918)
The Idea Of A League Of Nations (1919)
The Way To The League Of Nations (1919)
Frank Swinnerton (1920) (with Arnold Bennett and Grant Overton)
The Outline Of History (1920)
Russia In The Shadows (1920)
The Salvaging Of Civilization (1921)
A Short History Of The World (1922)
Washington and The Hope / Riddle Of Peace (1922)
Socialism and the Scientific Motive (1923)
The Story Of A Great Schoolmaster (1924)
A Short History Of Mankind (1925) (with E H Carter)
A Year Of Prophesying (1925)
Wells' Social Anticipations (1927)
The Book Of Catherine Wells (1928)
The Open Conspiracy (1928)
aka What Are We To Do With Our Lives?
The Way The World Is Going (1928)
Divorce As I See It (1930)
Points Of View (1930)
The Science Of Life (1930) (with Julian S Huxley and G P Wells)
The New Russia (1931)
Selections From The Early Prose Works Of H G Wells (1931)
The Work, Wealth and Happiness Of Mankind (1931)
After Democracy (1932)
An Experiment In Autobiography (1934)
The New America (1935)
The Anatomy Of Frustration (1936)
World Brain (1938)
The Fate Of Man (1939)
aka The Fate Of Homo Sapiens
The New World Order (1939)
Travels Of A Republican Radical In Search Of Hot Water (1939)
The Common Sense Of War and Peace (1940)
Guide To The New World (1941)
The Pocket History Of The World (1941)
The Conquest Of Time (1942)
Modern Russian and English Revolutionaries (1942) (with Lev Uspensky)
The Outlook For Homo Sapiens (1942)
Phoenix (1942)
Crux Ansata (1943)
'42 To '44 (1944)
Reshaping Man's Heritage (1944) (with J B S Haldane and Julian S Huxley)
The Happy Turning (1945)
Marxism Vs Liberalism (1945) (with J V Stalin)
Mind At The End Of Its Tether (1945)
Text-Book Of Biology/Zoology (1893)
Anticipations (1901)
Anticipations of the Reactions of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought (1901)
Mankind In The Making (1903)
A Modern Utopia (1905)
The Future In America (1906)
This Misery of Boots (1907)
Will Socialism Destroy the Home? (1907)
First and Last Things (1908)
Floor Games (1911)
The Great State (1912)
Great Thoughts From H. G. Wells (1912)
Little Wars (1913)
New Worlds For Old (1913)
An Englishman Looks At the World (1914)
The War That Will End War (1914)
The War and Socialism (1915)
What Is Coming? (1916)
God The Invisible King (1917)
Introduction To Nocturne (1917)
War and The Future (1917)
aka Italy, France, And Britain At War
In The Fourth Year (1918)
The Idea Of A League Of Nations (1919)
The Way To The League Of Nations (1919)
Frank Swinnerton (1920) (with Arnold Bennett and Grant Overton)
The Outline Of History (1920)
Russia In The Shadows (1920)
The Salvaging Of Civilization (1921)
A Short History Of The World (1922)
Washington and The Hope / Riddle Of Peace (1922)
Socialism and the Scientific Motive (1923)
The Story Of A Great Schoolmaster (1924)
A Short History Of Mankind (1925) (with E H Carter)
A Year Of Prophesying (1925)
Wells' Social Anticipations (1927)
The Book Of Catherine Wells (1928)
The Open Conspiracy (1928)
aka What Are We To Do With Our Lives?
The Way The World Is Going (1928)
Divorce As I See It (1930)
Points Of View (1930)
The Science Of Life (1930) (with Julian S Huxley and G P Wells)
The New Russia (1931)
Selections From The Early Prose Works Of H G Wells (1931)
The Work, Wealth and Happiness Of Mankind (1931)
After Democracy (1932)
An Experiment In Autobiography (1934)
The New America (1935)
The Anatomy Of Frustration (1936)
World Brain (1938)
The Fate Of Man (1939)
aka The Fate Of Homo Sapiens
The New World Order (1939)
Travels Of A Republican Radical In Search Of Hot Water (1939)
The Common Sense Of War and Peace (1940)
Guide To The New World (1941)
The Pocket History Of The World (1941)
The Conquest Of Time (1942)
Modern Russian and English Revolutionaries (1942) (with Lev Uspensky)
The Outlook For Homo Sapiens (1942)
Phoenix (1942)
Crux Ansata (1943)
'42 To '44 (1944)
Reshaping Man's Heritage (1944) (with J B S Haldane and Julian S Huxley)
The Happy Turning (1945)
Marxism Vs Liberalism (1945) (with J V Stalin)
Mind At The End Of Its Tether (1945)
Omnibus editions
Seven Famous Novels (1934)
The First Men in the Moon and The World Set Free (1989)
Five Great Novels (2004)
The Great Science Fiction (2016)
The First Men in the Moon / A Modern Utopia (2017)
The Invisible Man / The Food of the Gods (2017)
The War of the Worlds / The War in the Air (2017)
The Selected Works of H.G. Wells (2017)
Journeys Through Time & Space (2017) (with others)
Tor Classics Collection (2018)
The Shipwreck Collection (2019) (with others)
The Complete War of the Worlds (2020) (with Garrett P Serviss)
The Sleeper Awakes / Men Like Gods (2021)
The First Men in the Moon and The World Set Free (1989)
Five Great Novels (2004)
The Great Science Fiction (2016)
The First Men in the Moon / A Modern Utopia (2017)
The Invisible Man / The Food of the Gods (2017)
The War of the Worlds / The War in the Air (2017)
The Selected Works of H.G. Wells (2017)
Journeys Through Time & Space (2017) (with others)
Tor Classics Collection (2018)
The Shipwreck Collection (2019) (with others)
The Complete War of the Worlds (2020) (with Garrett P Serviss)
The Sleeper Awakes / Men Like Gods (2021)
Anthologies containing stories by H G Wells
The Big Book of Detective Stories
A Century of Humour (1925)
Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror 1st Series (1928)
Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror 2nd Series (1931)
A Century of Creepy Stories (1934)
Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror 3rd Series (1934)
The Mystery Book (1934)
A Century of Thrillers 2nd Series (1935)
The Great Book of Humour (1935)
The Great Book of Thrillers (1935)
The Mammoth Book of Thrillers, Ghosts and Mysteries (1936)
The Moonlight Traveller (1949)
The Other Side of the Moon (1949)
The 2nd Pan Book of Horror Stories (1960)
The Arrow Book of Horror Stories (1961)
Spine Chillers (1961)
The 3rd Pan Book of Horror Stories (1962)
The Frankenstein Reader (1962)
Tales of the Supernatural (1962)
Human and Inhuman Stories (1963)
The Best Science Fiction Stories 3 (1964)
Medley Macabre (1966)
Rod Serling's Devils and Demons (1967)
Hauntings (1968)
The 5th Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories (1970)
The 6th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories (1970)
A Century of Horror (1971)
Some Things Fierce and Fatal (1971)
3000 Years of Fantasy and Science Fiction (1972)
The Nightmare Reader Volume 2 (1973)
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume 2A (1973)
The Golden Road (1973)
Great British Short Stories (1974)
A Little Night Reading (1974)
Roots of Evil (1976)
aka Weird Stories of Supernatural Plants
The Best Science Fiction Stories (1977)
Tales of the Dark 2 (1977)
A Century of Short Stories (1977)
Chamber of Horrors (1978)
Lost Worlds, Unknown Horizons (1978)
Sixty-Five Great Tales of the Supernatural (1979)
The Giant Book of Horror Stories (1981)
Black Water (1983)
Magic for Sale (1983)
The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories (1984)
The Penguin Book of Horror Stories (1984)
The Science Fiction Weight-Loss Book (1985)
Realms of Darkness (1985)
The World's Library of Best Books Volume Two (1989)
Tales of the Occult (1989)
Masterpieces of Terror and the Unknown (1992)
Fantastic Tales (1993)
The Ascent of Wonder (1994)
Reel Future (1994)
The Wizards of Odd (1996)
Vampires, Wine and Roses (1997)
Ackermanthology (1997)
The Science Fiction Century (1997)
Great Ghost Stories (1998)
The Road to Science Fiction 5 (1998)
The Mammoth Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories (1998)
A Century of Humour (1925)
Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror 1st Series (1928)
Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror 2nd Series (1931)
A Century of Creepy Stories (1934)
Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery and Horror 3rd Series (1934)
The Mystery Book (1934)
A Century of Thrillers 2nd Series (1935)
The Great Book of Humour (1935)
The Great Book of Thrillers (1935)
The Mammoth Book of Thrillers, Ghosts and Mysteries (1936)
The Moonlight Traveller (1949)
The Other Side of the Moon (1949)
The 2nd Pan Book of Horror Stories (1960)
The Arrow Book of Horror Stories (1961)
Spine Chillers (1961)
The 3rd Pan Book of Horror Stories (1962)
The Frankenstein Reader (1962)
Tales of the Supernatural (1962)
Human and Inhuman Stories (1963)
The Best Science Fiction Stories 3 (1964)
Medley Macabre (1966)
Rod Serling's Devils and Demons (1967)
Hauntings (1968)
The 5th Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories (1970)
The 6th Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories (1970)
A Century of Horror (1971)
Some Things Fierce and Fatal (1971)
3000 Years of Fantasy and Science Fiction (1972)
The Nightmare Reader Volume 2 (1973)
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume 2A (1973)
The Golden Road (1973)
Great British Short Stories (1974)
A Little Night Reading (1974)
Roots of Evil (1976)
aka Weird Stories of Supernatural Plants
The Best Science Fiction Stories (1977)
Tales of the Dark 2 (1977)
A Century of Short Stories (1977)
Chamber of Horrors (1978)
Lost Worlds, Unknown Horizons (1978)
Sixty-Five Great Tales of the Supernatural (1979)
The Giant Book of Horror Stories (1981)
Black Water (1983)
Magic for Sale (1983)
The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories (1984)
The Penguin Book of Horror Stories (1984)
The Science Fiction Weight-Loss Book (1985)
Realms of Darkness (1985)
The World's Library of Best Books Volume Two (1989)
Tales of the Occult (1989)
Masterpieces of Terror and the Unknown (1992)
Fantastic Tales (1993)
The Ascent of Wonder (1994)
Reel Future (1994)
The Wizards of Odd (1996)
Vampires, Wine and Roses (1997)
Ackermanthology (1997)
The Science Fiction Century (1997)
Great Ghost Stories (1998)
The Road to Science Fiction 5 (1998)
The Mammoth Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories (1998)
Short stories
Tono-Bungay (excerpt) | |||
A Family Elopement (1884) | |||
A Tale Of The Twentieth Century (1887) | |||
The Devotee Of Art (1888) | |||
The Final Men (1894) | |||
The Hammerpond Park Burglary (1894) | |||
How Gabriel Became Thompson (1894) | |||
In the Modern Vein: An Unsympathetic Love Story (1894) | |||
The Lord of the Dynamos [short story] (1894) | |||
The Man With A Nose (1894) | |||
A Misunderstood Artist (1894) | |||
The Stolen Bacillus [short story] (1894) | |||
The Thing In No. 7 (1894) | |||
The Thumbmark (1894) | |||
The Treasure in the Forest [short story] (1894) | |||
The Cone [short story] (1895) | |||
How Pingwell Was Routed (1895) | |||
Our Little Neighbour (1895) | |||
The Time Machine [short story] (1895) | |||
Wayde's Essence (1895) | |||
The Plattner Story [short story] (1896) | |||
The Red Room [short story] (1896) | |||
The Story of the Late Mr Elvesham (1896) | |||
The Ghost of Fear (1897) | |||
The Invisible Man [short story] (1897) | |||
Mr Marshall's Doppelganger (1897) | |||
A Perfect Gentleman On Wheels (1897) | |||
The Presence By The Fire (1897) | |||
The Star [short story] (1897) | |||
The Man Who Could Work Miracles [short story] (1898) | |||
Mr Ledbetter's Vacation (1898) | |||
The Stolen Body [short story] (1898) | |||
Walcote (1898) | |||
Mr Brisher's Treasure (1899) | |||
Mr Skelmersdale in Fairyland (1901) | |||
The New Accelerator [short story] (1901) | |||
The Inexperienced Ghost [short story] (1902) | |||
The Loyalty Of Esau Common (1902) | |||
The Land Ironclads [short story] (1903) | |||
The Truth About Pyecraft [short story] (1903) | |||
Twelve Stories and a Dream [short story] (1903) | |||
The Valley of the Spiders (1903) | |||
The Country of the Blind [short story] (1904) | |||
The Empire of the Ants [short story] (1905) | |||
The Door in the Wall [short story] (1906) | |||
Little Mother Up the Morderberg (1910) | |||
My First Aeroplane (1910) | |||
The Pearl of Love (1924) | |||
The Queer Story of Brownlow's Newspaper (1932) | |||
Answer To Prayer (1937) |
H G Wells recommends

The Dove's Nest (1923)
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