H.G. Wells


Born
in Bromley, Kent, England
September 21, 1866

Died
August 13, 1946

Genre

Influences


Herbert George Wells was born to a working class family in Kent, England. Young Wells received a spotty education, interrupted by several illnesses and family difficulties, and became a draper's apprentice as a teenager. The headmaster of Midhurst Grammar School, where he had spent a year, arranged for him to return as an "usher," or student teacher. Wells earned a government scholarship in 1884, to study biology under Thomas Henry Huxley at the Normal School of Science. Wells earned his bachelor of science and doctor of science degrees at the University of London. After marrying his cousin, Isabel, Wells began to supplement his teaching salary with short stories and freelance articles, then books, including The Time Machine (1895), The Isl ...more

Average rating: 3.82 · 1,479,140 ratings · 70,114 reviews · 5,368 distinct worksSimilar authors
The Time Machine

3.89 avg rating — 564,407 ratings — published 1895 — 16 editions
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The War of the Worlds

3.83 avg rating — 349,123 ratings — published 1898 — 1407 editions
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The Invisible Man

3.63 avg rating — 216,809 ratings — published 1897 — 28 editions
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The Island of Dr. Moreau

by
3.73 avg rating — 134,973 ratings — published 1896
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The Time Machine / The Invi...

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4.10 avg rating — 56,566 ratings — published 2007 — 68 editions
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The First Men in the Moon

3.66 avg rating — 18,527 ratings — published 1901 — 19 editions
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The Time Machine / The War ...

4.14 avg rating — 8,859 ratings — published 1950 — 86 editions
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The Country of the Blind

3.83 avg rating — 9,422 ratings — published 1904 — 369 editions
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When the Sleeper Wakes

3.36 avg rating — 5,653 ratings — published 1899 — 997 editions
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The Food of the Gods

3.43 avg rating — 5,359 ratings — published 1904 — 1374 editions
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More books by H.G. Wells…
The Time Machine The Island of Dr. Moreau The Invisible Man The War of the Worlds
(4 books)
by
3.83 avg rating — 1,332,862 ratings

H.G. Wells Classic Collecti... H.G. Wells Classic Collecti...
(2 books)
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4.20 avg rating — 309 ratings

L'homme invisible, Tome 1 L'homme invisible, Tome 2
(2 books)
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3.84 avg rating — 300 ratings


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Quotes by H.G. Wells  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories...And those that carry us forward, are dreams.”
H.G. Wells

“Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo.”
H.G. Wells, The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman

“If you fell down yesterday, stand up today.”
H.G. Wells

Polls

Please vote them 2 of 2 for Nov 2025 BOTM: "From the TBR List"

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (1992)
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Flight of the Old Dog by Dale Brown (1987)
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The War of the Worlds by HG Wells
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