H.G. Wells
H.G. Wells (1866-1946)
The Island of Dr. Moreau
British
Realism
Herbert George Wells, generally referred to as H.G. Wells, was a prolific 19th-century British writer best known for his science fiction novels. He is often referred to, in fact, as the father of science fiction. Born into a lower middle class family, after his father’s shop failed and the family went bankrupt, Wells held a variety of jobs as an adolescent, including working as a teaching assistant, apprentice draper, and pharmacy clerk. He would later use these experiences in his novels as the basis for social satire. After eventually winning a scholarship to Imperial College, Wells trained as a scientist; he was particularly interested in Darwinian theory. Wells was also an avid Socialist and an active member of the Fabian Society, an organization that advocated a long-term approach to the eventual Socialist revolution. Throughout his life, Wells suffered from various physical ailments, including diabetes, and his life was further complicated by a series of romantic affairs and two failed marriages. Wells, who published 51 novels as well as dozens of stories, story collections, works of non-fiction, and essays, is also best known for his novels The Time Machine, War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, and When the Sleeper Awakes.
An early science fiction novel, The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896) dramatizes the practice of vivisection, the practice of performing operations on live animals for the purpose of scientific research. Vivisection was a controversial topic in fin de siècle England, with a number of organizations formed to fight the practice as cruel and unethical. As the novel examines the ethics of vivisection, it also illustrates the possibility that civilization was spiraling downward into an increasingly degenerate state. Although Wells was an educated man and a scientist, he appears to be warning of the dangers that unregulated science can pose to the larger community.
Consider while reading:
- Although this novel is considered an early science fiction text, it can also be described as a work of Gothic horror. What elements of the Gothic genre do you see here?
- What does this novel have in common with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein?
- What do you think of the ending of the novel? What does the ending suggest about the nature of humankind?
Written by Anita Turlington