Shows / The H. G. Wells Library
The H. G. Wells Library
A curious library stands open at the edge of time. Here, the worlds of H. G. Wells are not merely remembered but awakened, their voices carried once more across the invisible ether. The H. G. Wells Library presents complete readings of tales that peer into futures yet unborn, confront the machinery of progress, and question the destiny of humankind itself. From silent laboratories to distant planets, each episode invites the listener to wander as both observer and traveller, discovering…
Episodes
- The H. G. Wells Library
Certain Personal Matters - Concerning a Certain Lady
In which an observant gent is persistently beleaguered by a formidable lady of indomitable spirit and outrageous vigor, whose assaults in public places…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Certain Personal Matters - Of Cleverness
In which the narrator reflects on the exhausting brilliance of a certain Mr Crichton, whose relentless cleverness, though dazzling, lacks the dignified…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Certain Personal Matters - The Pose Novel
In which a writer reflects candidly on the folly and fascination of composing a youthful and earnest novel, only to consign it to flames as an act of…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Certain Personal Matters - House-Hunting as an Outdoor Amusement
In which the curious pursuit of house-hunting is transformed from a wearisome necessity into a delightful pastime, revealing the peculiar character of empty…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Certain Personal Matters - Of Blades and Bladery
In which the peculiar and flamboyant temperament of the Blade is dissected with acute observation, revealing his distinctive attire, gestures, and social…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Certain Personal Matters - The Language of Flowers
In which the quaint and curious art of Victorian floral symbolism is examined with a wry eye, exposing the curious incongruities and ironic truths behind the…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Certain Personal Matters - The Literary Regimen
In which the curious relationship between a writer’s diet and their creative powers is examined with gentle humour and a touch of irony, revealing that the…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Certain Personal Matters - On Schooling and the Phases of Mr. Sandsome
In which the narrator reflects with gentle wit on the perplexities and peculiar phases of his schooling under the stern Mr. Sandsome, whose moods and methods…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Certain Personal Matters - The Poet and the Emporium
In which a poet endures the dreariness and subtle humiliation of furnishing a home in a vast, impersonal emporium, discovering the gulf between romantic ideals…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Certain Personal Matters - In a Literary Household
In which a literary household is depicted as a place of chaotic charm and creative disarray, where order is forever postponed and the atmosphere is thick with…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Certain Personal Matters - Of Conversation
In which the narrator reflects with a gentle candour on the vexations and limitations of ordinary conversation, lamenting the ceaseless chatter that too often…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Certain Personal Matters - On the Choice of a Wife
In which the author offers a seasoned reflection on the perennial and intricate business of choosing a wife, gently subverting common romantic ideals with…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Certain Personal Matters - The House of Di Sorno
In which a chance encounter with a private box leads to the discovery of Euphemia’s youthful romance featuring the melancholic Venetian Ivan di Sorno, whose…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Certain Personal Matters - The Trouble of Life
In which the narrator reflects upon the myriad little vexations that make up daily existence—from the rituals of washing and shaving to the social obligations…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Certain Personal Matters - Thoughts on Cheapness and My Aunt Charlotte
In which the narrator reflects upon the changing values of possessions, contrasting the heavy, enduring goods cherished by his Aunt Charlotte with his own…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Bealby Chapter 8 - How Bealby Explained
In which the venerable Lord Chickney, with his old soldier’s simplicity and quirks, endeavours to unravel a tangled misunderstanding involving youthful…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Bealby Chapter 7 - The Battle of Crayminster Part One
In which a young fugitive’s attempt at escape turns into a lively chase through a quaint English village, with villagers roused to hunt him down amid their…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Bealby Chapter 7 - The Battle of Cratminister part two
In which the boy Bealby finds himself pursued and entangled among the local folk and their grievances, leading to a midnight refuge and uneasy alliances that…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Bealby Chapter 6 - Bealby and the Tramp Part Two
In which a tramp with a roguish charm guides Bealby through a day of ill-advised exploits, exposing him to strange philosophies and a brush with the law that…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Bealby Chapter 6 - Bealby and the Tramp Part One
In which Bealby, wandering lost and hungry at dusk, encounters a tramp whose flickering firelight reveals a complex character who both unsettles and captivates…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Bealby Chapter 5 - The Seeking of Bealby Part Two
In which Captain Douglas wrestles with his vexing pursuit of the elusive Bealby, all while navigating the shifting moods of love and the inscrutable caprices…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Bealby Chapter 5 - The Seeking of Bealby part one
In which the disappearance of young Bealby from the Shonts estate sets in motion a series of anxious search efforts, revealing the concerned and sometimes…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Bealby Chapter 4 - The Unobtrusive Parting Part One
In which Bealby experiences the simple joys and innocent illusions of life with a travelling company, attending a play that stirs his imagination and sense of…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Bealby Chapter 4 - The Unobtrusive Parting Part Two
In which a series of misunderstandings and mishaps uncovers the curious disappearance of a certain boy near Shonts, prompting a motley group of onlookers to…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Bealby Chapter 3 - The Wanderers part one
In which a young gentleman named Bealby escapes from the grand estate of Shonts at dawn and, wandering through the countryside, encounters a kindly band of…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Bealby Chapter 3 - The Wanderers Part Two
In which young Bealby, amid the gentle English summer countryside, resists temptation and encounters complications with a drunken golfer intruding upon a…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Bealby Chapter 1 - Young Bealby goes to Shonts
In which young Bealby, bound by stern family arrangements, reluctantly enters service at the grand estate of Shonts, where his rebellious spirit quickly brings…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Bealby Chapter 2 - A Week-End at Shonts
In which the genteel ritual of a weekend party at Shonts draws together a collection of peculiar personages, among them the dignified yet beleaguered Lord…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 9 Part 2
In which the tumultuous and often contradictory attitudes towards sex and reproduction in contemporary society are laid bare, revealing a chaos of secret…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 9 Part 1
In which the contemplative vision of a forthcoming New Republic unfolds, revealing a society where ethical beliefs transform under the illumination of science…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 8 Part 1
In which the inexorable advance of science and mechanism gradually dissolves old national boundaries, weaving together vast social and economic syntheses that…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 8 Part 2
In which a nascent New Republic among English-speaking peoples is envisioned as a loosely organised yet progressively cohesive movement of intelligent and…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 7 Part 2
In which the intricate dance of languages in our modern world is examined, revealing how English, French, and German vie to become the unifying tongues over…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 7 Part 1
In which we observe the intricate tapestry of human communities shaped by geography, language, and the inexorable forces of transit and communication that have…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 6 Part 1
In which we discern the transformation of warfare from heroic massed battalions to a finely wrought, mechanized contest of marksmen, balloons, and machines…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 6 Part 2
In which the future of warfare is envisaged as a swift and brutal contest of intellect and mechanised might, where the command of sea and sky dictates the fate…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 5 Part 1
In which the author carefully examines the prevailing democratic systems, revealing them as a patchwork of indistinct collective will and superficial…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 5 Part 2
In which the intricate and tumultuous machinery of democratic governments is observed to thrive upon patriotic fervour and international rivalry, inevitably…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 4 Part 2
In which the nuanced shifts in domestic life and marriage customs foretell a society where traditional monogamous households give way to varied and complex…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 4 Part 1
In which the thoughtful observer delineates the contrasting lives and homes of the burgeoning scientific and engineering class and the free-spending wealthy…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 3 Part 1
In which the vast mechanical advancements of the nineteenth century are observed as catalysts transforming the traditional social order—dissolving old classes…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 3 Part 2
In which the emergence of a new, scientifically educated class of mechanics and engineers is anticipated, poised to replace the old craftsmanship and transform…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 2 Part 2
In which the gradual diffusion of urban life is examined through the lens of improving transit and communication, heralding a future where cities spread into…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 2 Part 1
In which the intricate interplay between transit capabilities and population distribution is laid bare, revealing how the expansion and contraction of urban…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 1 Part 1
In which the intricate history and inevitable evolution of steam locomotion are traced from their humble and accidental origins amid coal mining demands to the…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Anticipations Chapter 1 Part 2
In which the evolving landscape of urban and interurban transport is scrutinised with a keen eye towards the interplay of competition, technological…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Ann Veronica Chapter 17 - In perspective
In which Ann Veronica and her husband prepare to host her father and aunt in a decorous flat, confronting the complicated emotions of familial reconciliation…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Ann Veronica Chapter 15 - The last days at home
In which Ann Veronica prepares herself to depart from her childhood home with a mixture of melancholy and resolve, navigating a complex encounter with Ramage…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Ann Veronica Chapter 16 - In the mountains
In which Ann Veronica and Capes embark on a joyous and intimate journey through the Swiss Alps, discovering a deep and harmonious companionship that transcends…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Ann Veronica Chapter 13 - The sapphire ring
In which Ann Veronica navigates the delicate intricacies of newfound friendships and engagements, revealing the tensions between societal expectations and…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Ann Veronica Chapter 14 - The collapse of the penitent
In which the stirring arrival of spring mirrors the awakening of restrained passions between two kindred spirits within the quiet confines of a laboratory, as…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Ann Veronica Chapter 11 - Thoughts in prison
In which Ann Veronica endures her first night in the harsh confines of a prison cell, where discomfort and relentless thoughts plague her, prompting…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Ann Veronica Chapter 12 - Ann Veronica puts things in order
In which Ann Veronica returns from prison to a cautious truce with her father and endeavours to resume her scientific pursuits amid the lingering complexities…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Ann Veronica Chapter 10 - The Suffragettes
In which a young woman grapples with the stringent confines imposed upon her sex, seeking solace and strength within the burgeoning movement for women’s…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Ann Veronica Chapter 9 - Discords
In which Ann Veronica receives a telegram from Ramage that leads them to an evening at the opera and a private dinner where the boundaries of friendship are…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Ann Veronica Chapter 7 - Ideals and a reality
In which Ann Veronica confronts the grim realities of seeking independent work in London, finding the world less accommodating than her ideals, and is drawn…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Ann Veronica Chapter 8 - Biology
In which Ann Veronica embarks on a rigorous and illuminating journey through the biological laboratory of the Central Imperial College, finding a new world of…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Ann Veronica Chapter 6 - Expostulations
In which Ann Veronica faces the stern and sorrowful remonstrations of her family following her sudden departure from home, engaging in heartfelt and fractious…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Ann Veronica Chapter 5 - The flight to London
In which a young woman resolves in the depth of night to break free from the constricting boundaries of her home and ventures alone into the sprawling vastness…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Ann Veronica Chapter 3 - The morning of the crisis
In which the young Ann Veronica finds herself pondering the complex intertwinings of matrimony, personal liberty, and societal expectation, occasioned by a…