H G Wells

The Wheels of Chance (Illustrated) H G Wells

A tale of social uneasiness, a comedy of ill-manners, H. G. Wells's fourth published novel is a long-forgotten little shiner, set in the Golden Age of the bicycling craze, sweeping Victorian England with the fervour of the late-nineties Furby. The insecure hero, a piddling draper with cringeing class awareness, intercepts in a uncouth affair between a bounder and a damsel, and begins a biking romp that will shake his perceptions of the Established Order. The damsel, one of these New Women, turns him on to Socialism and the notion that learning might liberate him from wage-slave lowliness as the mild-mannered romp wambles to a tart conclusion. Among other neglected early-period Wells include The Wonderful Visit, a slight tale of an angel falling to earth in late-1800s Middle England, and having to tolerate the awful people therein, and The Sea Lady, an early mermaid fantasy, and a notable inspiration to Half Man Half Biscuit.