H G Wells and the Short Story PDF
Preview H G Wells and the Short Story
H. G. Wells and the Short Story J. R. Hammond H. G. WELLS AND THE SHORTSTORY AlsobyJ. R. Hammond , ANH. G. WELLSCOMPANION H. G. WELLSANDREBECCAWEST ANEDGARALLANPOECOMPANION A GEORGEORWELLCOMPANION AROBERTLOUISSTEVENSONCOlV1PANION H. G. WELLS: ANANNOTATEDBIBLIOGRAPI-f)'OFHIS WORKS H. G. WELLSANDTHEMODERNNOVEL H. G. Wells and the Short Story J. R. Hanunond M St. Martin's Press ©J.R.Hammond1992 Allrightsreserved.Noreproduction,copyortransmissionof thispublicationmaybemadewithoutwrittenpermission. Noparagraphofthispublicationmaybereproduced,copiedor transmittedsavewithwrittenpernlissionorinaccordancewith theprovisionsoftheCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988, orunderthetermsofanylicencepermittinglimitedcopying issuedbytheCopyrightLicensingAgency,90TottenhamCourt Road,LondonWIP9HE. Anypersonwhodoesanyunauthorisedactinrelationtothis publicationmaybeliabletocriminalprosecutionandcivil claimsfordamages. FirstpublishedinGreatBritain1992by THEMACMILLANPRESSLTD Houndmills,Basingstoke,HanlpshireRG21 2XS andLondon Companiesandrepresentatives throughouttheworld Acataloguerecordforthisbookisavailable fromtheBritishLibrary ISBN0-333-51327-4 PrintedinGreatBritainby AntonyRoweLtd Chippenham,Wiltshire FirstpublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica1992by ScholarlyandReferenceDivision, ST.MARTIN'SPRESS,INC., 175FifthAvenue, NewYork,N.Y.10010 ISBN0-312-07582-0 LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Hammond,J.R. (JohnR.),1933- H.G.Wellsandtheshortstory/ J.R.Hammond. p. em. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN0-312-07582-0 1.Wells,H.G.(HerbertGeorge),1866-1946--eriticisnland interpretation. 2.Shortstory. I.Title. PR5777.H294 1992 823'.912-dc20 91-38862 CIP For H. G., in homage This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface ix Acknowledgements xi PART ONE: OVERVIEW 1 1 Wells and the ShortStory 3 2 The Frontiers ofArt 19 3 A Checklist ofWells'sShortStories 29 PART TWO: CASE STUDIES 41 4 SuburbanGardens 43 'Through a Window' 44 'The Purple Pileus' 48 'A Catastroph.e' 52 'Miss Winchelsea's Heart' 55 5 Mysteriolls Worlds 59 .'Aepyornis Island' 60 'The Sea Raiders' 63 'The Crystal Egg' 66 'Under the Knife' 70 6 A Hideous Grimace 75 'The Flowering ofthe StrangeOrchid' 76 'The Red Room' 79 'The Cone' 82 'The Wild Asses ofthe Devil' 86 vii viii Contents 7 TheMagic Crystal 89 'The Remarkable Case ofDavidson's Eyes' 90 'The PlattnerStory' 93 'TheStoryofthe Late Mr Elvesham' 96 'TheStolen Body' 100 8 The Man Alone 103 'ASlip under the Microscope' ~04 'The Presence by the Fire' 107 'Wayde's Essence' 109 'The Valley ofSpiders' 110 9 Lost Orientations 115 'MrSkelmersdale in Fairyland' 116 'TheCountry ofthe Blind' 121 'The Door in the Wall' 125 10 Firstand LastThings 133 'The Apple' 134 'The Story ofthe LastTrump' 136 'Answer to Prayer' 139 'A DreamofArmageddon' 141 Appendices 149 1 Two Unreprinted ShortStories 149 2 Introdtlction to The Country ofthe Blind 162 Notes 167 Bibliography 171 Index 173 Preface It is now thirty years since the publication of Bernard Bergonzi's pioneering work The Early H. G. Wells, the first study to subject Wells's shortstories to detailed academic scrutiny. The intervening three decades have seen a significant growth in the field of Wells studies and the publication of a number of important biographical and criticalworks pertainingtohislifeand writings. Asa resultwe nowknowfarmoreabouthismethodsofworkthanwasunderstood during his lifetime and have a deeper understanding of his artistic concernsandtheforcesthatshapedhistemperamentandattitudeof mind. ThepresentstudyisbestseenasacompanionvolumetomyH. G. Wells and the Modern Novel, published in 1988. In that book I ques tioned the received view that Wells was a novelist in the realist traditionandconcludedthathecanproperlyberegardedasatrans itional figure between realism and modernism. This study stems from my conviction that his short stories merit far closer critical attentionthantheyhaveyetreceivedand possessconsiderablepsy chological and symbolic insight. Justly famous as a writer of short stories, for too long Wells's contributions in this field have earned hima reputationasa second PoeorasecondStevenson.Thepresentstudyarguesthatinhisshort storiesWells was notsimplyemulatingthestylesand themesofhis predecessors but· making a distinctive contribution to the genre groundedfirmlyinhisapproachtofiction. Rejectinganyattemptsto circumscribetheshortstorywithinnarrowdefinitionsheproclaimed in the introduction to the Country ofthe Blind that 'insistence upon rigid forms and austere unities' was 'the instinctive reaction of the sterile against the fecund'. 'Through his deliberately fluid approach tothegenreand willingnesstoexperimentwithadiversityofstyles and themes,heproducedsom.eofthemostmemorableshorttalesin the English language. Hewasmoreovergivingfictionalexpressiontodrivesandlongings implicitinhisownmakeup.ThroughouthislifeWellssoughtunsuc cessfully to reconcile the conflicting drives within his personality towards, on the one hand, a love of order and security and, on the ix
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