A scientific romance by H G Wells (1866-1946), published in 1895. Wells had part of a serial published in The Science Schools Journal in 1888. Subsequently ‘The Chronic Argonauts’ was redrafted, eventually resulting in his first major novel The Time Machine. The genre of ‘scientific romance’ - later termed science fiction - merges adventure with philosophical speculation. Writing in a society undergoing rapid, transformative industrialisation and urbanisation, Wells raises meaningful issues about class divisions and evolution. The Time Traveller sees life forms of the future: he encounters the timid Eloi, who are preyed upon by subterranean creatures, the degenerate Morlocks. He also witnesses the final bleak days of the human race.
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