When a group of scientists learns how to travel through time, they enter life in fourteenth-century feudal France and threaten the history of the world.
Wells's genre-defining novel of time travel When a Victorian scientist propels himself into the year a.d. 802,701, he is initially delighted to find that suffering has been replaced by beauty, contentment, and peace. Entranced at first by the Eloi, an elfin species descended from man, he soon realizes that these beautiful people are simply remnants of a once-great culture—now weak and childishly afraid of the dark. They have every reason to be afraid: in deep tunnels beneath their paradise lurks another race descended from humanity—the sinister Morlocks. And when the scientist’s time machine vanishes, it becomes clear he must search these tunnels if he is ever to return to his own era. This edition includes a newly established text, a full biographical essay on Wells, a list of further reading, and detailed notes. Marina Warner’s introduction considers Wells’s development of the “scientific romance” and places the novel in the context of its time. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
The Time Machine, perhaps Wells' best known work, tells the story of the first time traveler. In the distant future the human race has evolved into two beings: the gentle Eloi and their dreaded cousins, the Morlocks, masters of the underworld. Ralph Cosham's performance is possibly the best narration ever of this Science Fiction Classic.Five great stories featuring Wells at his best, delving into fantastic and strange worlds. Included are The Door in the Wall, a haunting classic capturing the pathos of lost youth; Aepyornis Island, the story of a prehistoric bird; The Purple Pileus, involves a life-altering fungus, The Truth About Pyecraft, the delightful tale of a man who must wear lead underwear, and The Strange Orchid, which tells of the macabre appetite of an exotic plant.
Follows one man from ninth-century Russia to present-day America as he struggles to rescue a princess and her kingdom, find true love, and overcome the blackest of evil.
