The first book H. G. Wells published, The Time Machine, is a scientific romance that helped invent the genre of science fiction and the time travel story. Even before its serialization had finished in the spring of 1895, Wells had been declared “a man of genius,” and the book heralded a fifty year career of a major cultural and political controversialist. This dystopian vision of Darwinian evolution is a sardonic rejection of Victorian ideals of progress and improvement and a detailed satirical commentary on the decadent culture of the 1890’s.
Tune in to our podcast to listen to Roger Luckhurst, editor of the Oxford World’s Classics edition, discuss the plot and themes of The Time Machine, as well as Wells’ influences and impact on science fiction.
Featured image credit: “Banner, Header, time, Ancient Clock” by PeteLinforth. Public Domain via Pixabay.
Well interesting, I enjoyed the Roger Podcast.