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
A Short History of the World Chapter 33 - The Growth of the Roman Empire
In which the rise and expansion of the Roman Republic into a vast and novel empire is traced, revealing its unique republican nature and the gradual…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 34 - Between Rome and China
In which the grand empires of Rome and Han China stand as colossal yet isolated forces on the world stage, their reaches expansive yet bounded by distant…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 31 - Rome Comes into History
In which the ebb and flow of ancient civilizations are traced through the mingling of nomadic invaders and settled peoples, setting a stage where Rome, once a…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 32 - Rome and Carthage
In which the long and bitter conflict between Rome and Carthage unfolds, marked by naval innovation, bold campaigns, and the rise and fall of great powers…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 30 - Confucius and Lao Tse
In which the troubled but fertile period of early China is illuminated through the lives of Confucius and Lao Tse, whose contrasting philosophies arose amid…
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A Short History of the World Chapter 29 - King Asoka
In which the noble monarch Asoka, moved by the horrors of war, renounces conquest in favour of peace and devotes his reign to spreading Buddhist teachings and…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 27 - The Museum and Library at Alexandria
In which the city of Alexandria rises as a brilliant beacon of learning and inquiry, founded by Alexander and nurtured by Ptolemy’s passion for knowledge…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 28 - The Life of Gautama Buddha
In which a young aristocrat named Siddhattha Gautama, discontent with the hollow pleasures of his sheltered life, embarks on a profound quest for understanding…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 25 - The Splendour of Greece
In which the twilight after the Persian wars saw Greece, and especially Athens under Pericles, blossom into a beacon of intellectual and artistic splendour…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 26 - The Empire of Alexander the Great
In which the careful rise of Macedonia under King Philip transforms Greek warfare and unites Greece, setting the stage for his son Alexander to embark on an…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 23 - The Greeks
In which the age-old landscapes of Greece and its myriad little states—enshrouded by sea and mountain—bear witness to the stirring of a new intellectual…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 24 - The Wars of the Greeks and Persians
In which the vast Persian empire, under mighty rulers like Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius, stretches its dominion across ancient lands, yet finds itself resisted…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 21 - The Early History of the Jews
In which we observe the Hebrews, a modest Semitic people whose fortunes and literature—chiefly the Old Testament—are deeply entwined with the shifting tides of…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 22 - Priests and Prophets in Judea
In which the ebb of Semitic dominance gives way to the endurance of a singular people, the Jews, whose identity and resolve are forged not in the might of…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 19 - The Primitive Aryans
In which we observe the wanderings and customs of the early Aryan tribes—fair and blue-eyed folk who roamed the forests and plains of central Europe and Asia…
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A Short History of the World Chapter 20 - The Last Babylonian Empire and the Empire of Darius I
In which the twilight of the Assyrian empire gives way to the rise of the Chaldean and Median realms, with Babylon reaching a final brilliance under…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 17 - The First Sea-Going Peoples
In which the emergence of the first seafaring peoples is traced through their early boats and ships upon inland seas, with a particular focus on the prosperous…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 18 - Egypt, Babylon And Assyria
In which the resilient spirit of Egypt reasserts itself after foreign domination, blossoming into a formidable empire engaged in prolonged conflicts with the…
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A Short History of the World Chapter 15 - Sumeria, Early Egypt And Writing
In which the dawn of civilisation unfolds beside the rivers Euphrates and Nile, where the Sumerians and Egyptians cultivate cities, temples, and the earliest…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 16 - Primitive Nomadic Peoples
In which the delicate balance between the settled agricultural communities of fertile river valleys and the hardy nomadic peoples of harsh lands is gently…
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A Short History of the World Chapter 13 - The Beginnings of Cultivation
In which the gradual dawn of cultivation and domestication emerges amidst the lingering shadows of the hunter-gatherer epoch, as Neolithic peoples, guided by…
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A Short History of the World Chapter 14 - Primitive Neolithic Civilizations
In which the world’s geography settles into a familiar form and ancient human races are observed to blend and diverge like shifting clouds, each carrying their…
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A Short History of the World Chapter 11 - The First True Men
In which there is a careful contemplation of the earliest true men known to science, whose remains and remarkable artistry have been discovered chiefly in…
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A Short History of the World Chapter 12 - Primitive Thought
In which we explore the imaginative and emotional life of early humans, who thought much like children surrounded by vivid dreams, fears, and stories that…
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A Short History of the World Chapter 10 - The Neanderthaler And the Rhodesian Man
In which we meet the Neanderthaler, a stout and hardy creature of a different species from true man, who dwelled in the cold glacial landscapes of ancient…
- The H. G. Wells Library
A Short History of the World Chapter 9 - Monkeys, Apes and Sub-Men
In which we observe the gradual unfolding of primate history amid shifting climates, tracing the faint and fragmentary traces of ape-like creatures who…
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A Short History of the World Chapter 7 - The First Birds and the First Mammals
In which the Mesozoic world reveals its teeming reptiles and emerging feathered creatures, whose delicate adaptations hint at the eventual rise of birds and…
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A Short History of the World Chapter 8 - The Age of Mammals
In which the earth’s surface is transformed by dramatic upheavals and volcanic outpourings, heralding an age where mammals emerge to populate newly formed…
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A Short History of the World Chapter 6 - The Age of Reptiles
In which the Earth undergoes vast climatic fluctuations that give rise to the Age of Reptiles, a hothouse epoch marked by the flourishing of extraordinary…
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A Short History of the World Chapter 5 - The Age of the Coal Swamps
In which the Earth undergoes vast climatic and geological changes, shaping an ancient world of barren rocks and shallow seas where life ventures tentatively…
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A Short History of the World Chapter 3 - The Beginnings of Life
In which we explore the ancient and intricate Record of the Rocks, deciphering the vast stretches of geological time that predate the memory of man and…
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A Short History of the World Chapter 4 - The Age of Fishes
In which the slow and wondrous ascent of life from simple mud-dwelling beings to the first fishes is unfolded with a gentle reflection on the mysteries of…
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A Short History of the World Chapter 1 - The World in Space
In which the vastness and ancient mysteries of our solar system are gently unveiled, contrasting the recent strides of human understanding with the long-held…
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A Short History of the World Chapter 2 - The World in Time
In which we embark on a contemplative journey through the unimaginable vastness of geological time, tracing the earth's transformation from a fiery molten orb…
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The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents - The Treasure in the Forest
In which two intrepid men, guided by a fragile map and tales from distant shores, venture through a forbidding tropical forest and paddle along a secret river…
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The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents - A Moth - Genus Novo
In which the entomologist Hapley, consumed by a lifelong scholarly feud and recent misfortunes, encounters a mysterious and elusive moth unlike any known…
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The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents - The Hammerpond Park Burglary
In which a modestly inventive gentleman, under the guise of a landscape artist, takes up residence near a stately Sussex manor with the intention of capturing…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents - The Remarkable Case of Davidson’s Eyes
In which a curious and disconcerting affliction befalls Sidney Davidson, rendering his sight a doorway to a distant and spectral realm, much to the…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents - The Lord of the Dynamos
In which a surly Yorkshire electrician and his silent, enigmatic helper from the East tend to the humming, mighty dynamos powering an electric railway, amidst…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents - Aepyornis Island
In which a seasoned collector recounts the curious adventure of maroonment on a remote atoll, where the discovery of ancient eggs leads to an extraordinary…
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The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents - The Diamond Maker
In which a chance encounter along the moonlit Thames leads to a tale of relentless scientific ambition and hardship, centred on a man who claims to have…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents - The Flying Man
In which a British lieutenant recounts a harrowing expedition through an unforgiving valley, culminating in an extraordinary and desperate feat born of dire…
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The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents - The Temptation of Harringay
In which an artist grapples with the vexations and whims of his own canvas, finding himself in a peculiar contest of wills with the living expression of his…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents - A Deal in Ostriches
In which the narrator recounts a curious tale of exorbitantly priced ostriches aboard an East Indiaman, one of which is said to have swallowed a precious…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents - Through a Window
In which a convalescent gentleman finds unexpected diversion and keen observation in the lively passage of river craft and human drama beyond his window…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents - In the Avu Observatory
In which an observatory perched high on a Bornean mountain becomes the scene of a strange nocturnal encounter between an assistant astronomer and a mysterious…
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The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents - Triumphs of a Taxidermist
In which a taxidermist, ensconced in his humble den, reveals to a fascinated companion the secret arts and curious triumphs of his trade, ranging from the…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents - The Flowering of the Strange Orchid
In which a modest orchid enthusiast, Winter-Wedderburn, acquires a curious plant of mysterious origin that both captivates and unsettles those around him, as…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents - The Stolen Bacillus
In which a learned Bacteriologist expounds upon the dreadful potential of a deadly cholera bacillus to a peculiar visitor whose restless intent soon sparks a…
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The War of the Worlds Chapter 27 - The Epilogue
In which the narrator reflects upon the aftermath of extraordinary events with a contemplative eye, pondering the mysterious nature of the invaders and the…
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The War of the Worlds Chapter 26 - Wreckage
In which the narrator, recovering from a bewildering lapse of memory, returns to a ravaged London teeming with peculiar vitality and the strange red weed of…
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The War of the Worlds Chapter 25 - Dead London
In which the narrator traverses a London desolate and silent, its streets haunted by the eerie howling of a great and inscrutable Martian presence, and…
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The War of the Worlds Chapter 23 - The Work of Fifteen Days
In which the narrator ventures forth from his shelter into a landscape transformed by strange and alien growths, feeling a profound sense of displacement and…
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The War of the Worlds Chapter 24 - The Man on Putney Hill
In which a chance meeting on Wimbledon Common reunites two weary survivors who discuss the grim realities and staggering prospects of mankind’s struggle…
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The War of the Worlds Chapter 21 - The Death of the Curate
In which a tense and harrowing confinement unfolds between two very different men, culminating in a tragic climax that shakes the fragile relations of their…
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The War of the Worlds Chapter 22 - The Stillness
In which the narrator endures a harrowing captivity marked by thirst and silence, observing a landscape transformed by the relentless spread of a strange red…
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The War of the Worlds Chapter 19 - What We Saw from the Ruined House
In which the narrator and the curate observe the aftermath of a colossal impact on their suburban street, noting with curious and detached wonder the…
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The War of the Worlds Chapter 20 - The Days of Imprisonment
In which the narrator and a curate endure a haunting imprisonment beneath the watchful presence of imposing Martian machines engaged in eerie metallurgical…
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The War of the Worlds Chapter 17 - The 'Thunder Child'
In which the reader is taken into the harrowing retreat from London, where streams of humanity flee before the steady advance of the Martians, their presence…
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The War of the Worlds Chapter 18 - Under Foot
In which the narrator and the curate find themselves trapped by a sinister Black Smoke, enduring a tense confinement within a deserted house while the world…