| Fact File |
| |
| Birthdate | | 21st September 1866 |
| Death | | 13th August 1946 |
| Nationality | | British |
| Most Popular Work | | War of the Worlds |
Herbert George Wells is Britains most famous science-fiction writer. His most famous pieces of works are War of the Worlds, Invisible Man, The Time Machine and the Island of Dr. Moreau. The only author of his time that would write
about such subjects was the French author Jules Verne. He was not born into a life of privilege but to a Joseph Wells ( domestic gardener, one time shopkeeper and cricketer ) and Sarah Neal (a former domestic servent). The family made a little amount of money by selling the
equipment that Joseph had used in the cricket games he played. In those days professional cricket hadn't come about.
At the age of seven, Wells had an accident that meant he caused him to be bed-ridden. To pass the time, he would read books that his dad would get him from the library. These books allowed him to expand his horizons and start writing. He joined Thomas Morleys Commercial Academy
where he studied until 1880. After that he and his brothers were placed on a number of apprentices which he neither like nor enjoyed. He worked as a draper apprentice which would influence works of his in the future.
Well's parents separated as she got a job and moved out of the family home. The conditions of her new job had been that there would only be space for only her so he stayed with his father. They stayed married but never divorced and neither looked for a relationship with anyone else.
He became a teaching assistant then won a scholarship to become a teacher. He helped A.A. Milne, author of the Winnie the Pooh stories during his time as an assitant teacher. He went to study Biology and Physics at University but he graduated with a degree in Zoology through the
University external learning programme.
He married a number of times during his life, the first was to his cousin Isabel but that relationship produced no children. The marriage only lasted three years before he became interested in Amy Catherine Robbins and married in 1895, they were to have two children, George (1901) and Frank (1903).
During his marriage, he was to have many liasions and some of these produced children. In 1909, he had child Anna-Jane with writer Amber Reeves. In 1914, he had another son Anthony West with Rebecca West, a feminist and novelist. Although full aware of his extra-marital affairs, he
stayed married to Amy until 1927, her death.
Although known mainly for his writing, he did do some works of art but they are not nearly as well known as Van Gogh or John Constable.
Writing was what made him famous, had it not been for his stories, he would just have been just another Victorian man. 'Anticipations' published in 1901 was what he expected life to be like in 2000. Some of these came true ( sexual morals declining, movement of people from cities to
suburban areas, defeat of the German military, European Union), and some didn't or happened earlier ( aircraft, submarines ).
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