Miss Winchelsea's Heart

by H.G. Wells

Miss Winchelsea was going to Rome. The matter had filled her mind for a month or more, and had overflowed so abundantly into her conversation that quite a number of people who were not going to Rome, and who were not likely to go to Rome, had made it a personal grievance against her. Some indeed had attempted quite unavailingly to convince her that Rome was not nearly such a desirable place as it was reported to be, and others had gone so far as to suggest behind her back that she was dreadfully "stuck up" about "that Rome of hers." And little Lily Hardhurst had told her friend Mr. Binns that so far as she was concerned Miss Winchelsea might "go to her old Rome and stop there; she (Miss Lily Hardhurst) wouldn't grieve." And the way in which Miss Winchelsea put herself upon terms of personal tenderness with Horace and Benvenuto Cellini and Raphael and Shelley and Keats-if she had been Shelley's widow she could not have professed a keener interest in his grave-was a matter of universal astonishment.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Audiobook

28 pages, Paperback

First published February 17, 2014

About the author

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 Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898).

Wells created a mild scandal when he divorced his cousin to marry one of his best students, Amy Catherine Robbins. Although his second marriage was lasting and produced two sons, Wells was an unabashed advocate of free (as opposed to "indiscriminate") love. He continued to openly have extra-marital liaisons, most famously with Margaret Sanger, and a ten-year relationship with the author Rebecca West, who had one of his two out-of-wedlock children. A one-time member of the Fabian Society, Wells sought active change. His 100 books included many novels, as well as nonfiction, such as A Modern Utopia (1905), The Outline of History (1920), A Short History of the World (1922), The Shape of Things to Come (1933), and The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind (1932). One of his booklets was Crux Ansata, An Indictment of the Roman Catholic Church. Although Wells toyed briefly with the idea of a "divine will" in his book, God the Invisible King (1917), it was a temporary aberration. Wells used his international fame to promote his favorite causes, including the prevention of war, and was received by government officials around the world. He is best-remembered as an early writer of science fiction and futurism.

He was also an outspoken socialist. Wells and Jules Verne are each sometimes referred to as "The Fathers of Science Fiction". D. 1946.

More: http://philosopedia.org/index.php/H._...

http://www.online-literature.com/well...

http://www.hgwellsusa.50megs.com/

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._Wells

Reviews

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story 3.5 stars**
Audio 4 stars**
Narrator Helen Lloyd

[Morzejko Leporello · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully witty and sarcastic short story about the extremes of refined taste. While Welles is remembered to day mostly as a "since fiction" writer (and his futuristic writings are not really science fiction and the term came much later), he was a versatile author easily switching between short stories, romantic novels and "Gothic" tales.
Miss Winchelsea's Heart light touch and unexpected ending puts the work among the best short stories.

[Mythlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little predictable, but fun. The opening lines set the tone for the piece:

"Miss Winchelsea was going to Rome. The matter had filled her mind for a month or more, and had overflowed so abundantly into her conversation that quite a number of people who were not going to Rome, and who were not likely to go to Rome, had made it a personal grievance against her."

[John Yelverton · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a silly little story about a self-absorbed maiden who falls in love while vacationing in Rome, but then rebuffs her courtier's advances once she discovers what his surname is, and then regrets that decision.

[Caleb Marcoux · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story probably deserves to be rated 3 stars, but it really is pointless with little merit except the moral to communicate your feelings to others rather than hiding them, and not avoid someone over something as stupid as a name.
Don't get me wrong, it is very well-written. There's just no point.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Forked Radish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heart make fine taco.