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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
The War of the Worlds Chapter 15 - What Had Happened in Surrey
In which the eerie silence of a gathering Martian force is broken by the futile efforts of human artillery and the chilling release of a lethal black vapour…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The War of the Worlds Chapter 16 - The Exodus from London
In which the great city of London becomes a seething mass of terrified refugees, struggling desperately to escape the advancing peril that drives them…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The War of the Worlds Chapter 13 - How I Fell In with the Curate
In which the narrator, having narrowly escaped earlier devastation, drifts weary down the river and encounters a curate overwhelmed by the enormity of recent…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The War of the Worlds Chapter 14 - In London
In which the calm and measured streets of London begin to stir with the first uncertain whispers of an extraordinary invasion, as hurried telegrams and…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The War of the Worlds Chapter 11 - At the Window
In which the narrator, returning to his study after a storm, beholds a desolate and fiery landscape marked by the bewildering presence of colossal mechanical…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The War of the Worlds Chapter 12 - What I Saw of the Destruction of Weybridge and Shepperton
In which the narrator and his companion set out through a desolate countryside, observing the calm before a dire conflict, and encounter soldiers indifferent…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The War of the Worlds Chapter 9 - The Fighting Begins
In which the narrator recounts a day thick with tension and the slow stirring of hostilities as the military encircles the Martian invaders, while ordinary…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The War of the Worlds Chapter 10 - In the Storm
In which the narrator makes a tense journey through the English countryside on a stormy night, observing the eerie glow of distant fires and encountering…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The War of the Worlds Chapter 8 - Friday Night
In which the onset of an extraordinary event unfolds quietly amid the accustomed rhythms of rural life, with a gathering crowd barely comprehending the…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The War of the Worlds Chapter 7 - How I Reached Home
In which the narrator, weary and disbelieving, returns home from the chaos of the common, grappling with the incongruous calm of nightly domesticity against…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The War of the Worlds Chapter 5 - The Heat-ray
In which the curious and fearful spectators gather upon the heathered common to witness the strange emergence and eerie motions of the Martians, only to be met…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The War of the Worlds Chapter 6 - The Heat-ray in the Chobham Road
In which the dreadful nature of the Martians' heat-ray is unveiled, its invisible and devastating power reducing all combustible matter into flame and ruin…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The War of the Worlds Chapter 3 - On Horsell Common
In which a mysterious, metallic cylinder lies embedded in the earth on Horsell Common, attracting a curious but puzzled crowd, and the local authorities…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The War of the Worlds Chapter 4 - The Cylinder Opens
In which a great crowd gathers on Horsell Common to witness the unfurling of the mysterious cylinder’s lid, expecting a terrestrial figure but instead…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The War of the Worlds Chapter 1 - The Eve of the War
In which a calm and confident humanity remains blissfully unaware that insidious and formidable intelligences from the dying planet Mars have been scrutinising…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The War of the Worlds Chapter 2 - The Falling Star
In which a mysterious fiery projectile descends upon the common between Horsell, Ottershaw, and Woking, revealing itself as a vast metallic cylinder with an…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Tales of Space and Time Tale 5 - The Man Who Could Work Miracles - A Pantoum in Prose
In which Mr. George McWhirter Fotheringay, a modest clerk with a skeptical mind, abruptly discovers he possesses the extraordinary power to work miracles by…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Tales of Space and Time Tale 4 - A Story of the Days to Come - Part 4 - Underneath
In which Denton and Elizabeth find a brief respite from the harshness of their existence by contemplating the vastness of the stars and the transience of life…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Tales of Space and Time Tale 4 - A Story of the Days to Come - Part 5 - Biindon Intervenes
In which one contemplates the wrenching complexities of love, hope, and despair amid the harsh realities of a sprawling and indifferent city, as a troubled man…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Tales of Space and Time Tale 4 - A Story of the Days to Come - Part 2 - The Vacant Country
In which two young souls of a future London, weighed down by the constrictions of fortune and an inexorable civilisation, dream of reclaiming a simpler…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Tales of Space and Time Tale 4 - A Story of the Days to Come - Part 3 - The Ways of the City
In which a young couple, striving against the inexorable pressures of a sprawling mechanical city, confront the harsh realities of love, loss, and labour…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Tales of Space and Time Tale 3 - A Story of the Stone Age - Part 5 - The Fight in the Lion's Thicket
In which a wounded man and his devoted companion endure the perils of wild beasts and the wary tribe, beset by old fears and ancient rites, as the great lion…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Tales of Space and Time Tale 4 - A Story of the Days to Come - Part 1 - The Cure for Love
In which we observe the transformation of a family line from the steadfast Victorian respectability of Mr. Morris to the complexities of a future London, where…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Tales of Space and Time Tale 3 - A Story of the Stone Age - Part 3 - The First Horsemaan
In which two primitive beings, observing and perplexed, engage in a tense encounter with cave bears in a rocky amphitheatre, while nearby wild horses graze…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Tales of Space and Time Tale 3 - A Story of the Stone Age - Part 4 - Uya the Lion
In which Ugh-lomi returns to his tribe only to find them haunted by a menacing lion that threatens their very existence, and the villagers grapple with fear…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Tales of Space and Time Tale 3 - A Story of the Stone Age - Part 2 - The Cave Bear
In which we observe the tender wanderings and quiet struggles of early humans Ugh-lomi and Eudena as they seek refuge and sustenance amidst the primeval chalk…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Tales of Space and Time Tale 3 - A Story of the Stone Age - Part 1 - Ugh-Lomi and Uya
In which the tides of ancient spring awaken a tribe of early men and women, whose lives intertwine uneasily with the wild creatures of a primeval forest…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Tales of Space and Time Tale 1 - The Crystal Egg
In which a curious and grimy curiosity dealer harbours a luminous crystal egg that, under peculiar conditions, reveals to him a vivid and moving panorama of a…
- The H. G. Wells Library
Tales of Space and Time Tale 2 - The Star
In which a remarkable celestial visitor, larger and brighter than any star in the heavens, appears suddenly in our skies, heralding a spectacle that captivates…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Time Machine Chapter 11
In which the Time Traveller ventures farther into the future than ever before, witnessing the Earth’s slow and sombre decline beneath a dimming sun that ceases…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Time Machine Chapter 12
In which the Time Traveller returns to his familiar laboratory, bringing with him a tale so extraordinary that it unsettles both his listeners and himself…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Time Machine Chapter 10
In which the Time Traveller reflects with a melancholy wisdom on the curious destinies of mankind’s descendants, observing the tranquil yet fragile beauty of…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Time Machine Chapter 9
In which the traveller, accompanied by his fragile charge Weena, ventures into a forest shrouded in darkness and menace, grappled by exhaustion and a rising…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Time Machine Chapter 7
In which the Time Traveller, beset by an unsettling new understanding of the fearful Eloi and their mysterious nocturnal adversaries, seeks refuge and arms…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Time Machine Chapter 8
In which the Time Traveller discovers a forlorn and decaying Palace of Green Porcelain, a vast museum housing remnants of a bygone intellectual era, its halls…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Time Machine Chapter 5
In which the Time Traveller confronts a perplexing and unsettling disappearance of his machine, leading him through a night of despair and cautious inquiry…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Time Machine Chapter 6
In which the Traveller, beset by a haunting apprehension of pale, elusive creatures dwelling beneath the earth, gathers his courage to descend a perilous shaft…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Time Machine Chapter 3
In which a gentleman sets forth upon his maiden journey through the uncharted corridors of Time, experiencing bewildering and disconcerting sensations as the…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Time Machine Chapter 4
In which the Time Traveller encounters a delicate and childlike race who greet him with innocence and gentle curiosity amidst the ruins of a once-great…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Time Machine Chapter 2
In which the Time Traveller returns from an astonishing absence, bearing signs of hardship and mystery that cast a curious spell over his guests, whose blend…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The Time Machine Chapter 1
In which the Time Traveller unveils a diminutive, exquisitely crafted model of his ingenious contrivance for traversing the temporal dimension, demonstrating…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 25 - The Grand Lunar
In which Mr. Cavor, escorted by his peculiar Selenite attendants, is conducted through the awe-inspiring caverns of the moon to the presence of the Grand…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 26 - The Last Message Cavor Sent to the Earth
In which the final messages from Cavor, sent with a poignant earnestness amidst the silent expanse of the moon, reveal a grave error of trust and the shadow of…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 23 - An Abstract of the Six Messages First Received from Mr. Cavor
In which the careful recounting of Mr. Cavor’s messages reveals a fascinating and occasionally contentious portrayal of their lunar expedition, touching upon…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 24 - The Natural History of the Selenites
In which an extraordinary, bustling society of insect-like lunar beings reveals itself in all its intricate variety and specialised functions, captured with…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 21 - Mr. Bedford at Littlestone
In which a weary traveller emerges from an extraordinary vessel upon the coast of England and, amid the curious attentions and incredulity of seaside bathers…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 22 - The Astonishing Communication of Mr. Julius Wendigee
In which the narrator recounts an extraordinary postscript to his tale upon receiving astonishing messages from the Moon, intercepted by a Dutch electrician…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 20 - Mr. Bedford in Infinite Space
In which Mr. Bedford finds himself adrift in the silent vastness of space within the sphere, wrestling with the disorienting sensation of infinite solitude and…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 19 - Mr. Bedford Alone
In which the solitary Mr. Bedford wanders the moon’s barren, gold-veined crater, contemplates the curious spirit that drives mankind beyond safety, and…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 17 - The Fight in the Cave of the Moon Butchers
In which two Earthmen make a perilous and strenuous ascent through a narrow cleft to discover a cavernous workshop where the Moon's inhabitants butcher immense…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 18 - In the Sunlight
In which two weary travellers emerge from vast subterranean galleries to the harsh sunlight and parched air of the lunar surface, reflecting on the immense and…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 15 - The Giddy Bridge
In which two captives, bound and bewildered, are led through the luminous, cavernous underworld of the Moon, their fragile understanding of the alien landscape…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 16 - Points of View
In which the explorers discover a glowing fungi forest illuminating a sloping cavern and reflect on their precarious situation amidst the strange, hostile…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 13 - Mr. Cavor Makes Some Suggestions
In which two gentlemen, beleaguered and fettered within the mysterious depths of the moon, ruminate upon their perilous predicament and the curious…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 14 - Experiments in intercourse
In which two Earthmen, newly released from their bonds, find themselves carefully guided through a vast subterranean lunar cavern illuminated by an astonishing…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 11 - The Mooncalf Pastures
In which two bewildered earthmen navigate the curious and alien pastures of the moon, encountering enormous, sluggish creatures and their diminutive, strangely…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 12 - The Selenite's Face
In which the narrator finds himself bound and imprisoned in a dark, unfamiliar place alongside Cavor, struggling with pain and confusion as they grapple with…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 10 - Lost Men in the Moon
In which two lost travellers find themselves ensnared in the bewildering wilderness of an alien crater, their desperate search for their means of escape…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 9 - Prospecting Begins.
In which our intrepid explorers cautiously test the thin, yet life-supporting lunar air beyond their protective sphere, discovering an alien landscape of…
- The H. G. Wells Library
The First Men in the Moon Chapter 8 - A Lunar Morning.
In which the arrival of dawn on a distant lunar landscape reveals the gradual emergence of an atmosphere and the astonishing swift unfurling of hardy…