The Time Machine by: H.G. Wells

The Time Machine by: H.G. Wells The Scientific Romance and the Evolutionary Paradigm By: Roger Luckhurst

Presented By:

• Andy Wahba • Ben Baker • Ryan Gress

• Roger is a Professor at Birkbeck College, University of London. • He wrote many reviews about stories. that were written in the late 19th Century. • In 1995 he won SFRA for his review "The Many Deaths of Science Fiction: A Polemic."

The Scientific Romance and the Evolutionary Paradigm • H.G. Wells did not only write about Scientific Fiction in the 1890’s. • He also wrote about Gothic Tales (Island of Dr. Moreau) • Social Comedies (Wheels of Chance) • Whimsical fantasies about angelic visitations (The Wonderful Visit) • Journalisms (Certain Personal Matters)

Wells’ Idea • Wells received some ideas for his scientific writings from Grant Allen. • Allen was a seasoned writer in Scientific Novels. His most famous novel was “Physiological Aesthetics.” • Basically Allen paved the way for Wells’ Scientific Romance ideas.

Wells’ Idea Continued… • With Wells’ accomplishments in writing during the 1890s, scientific romance became such a popular topic it joined the normal conversation of the day. • Wells simply used scientific experiments and theories and organized them into an interesting story which people would enjoy reading and could, in some ways, relate to. • Wells popularized what Allen was trying to produce years before, and he suceeded.

Luckhurst on The Time Machine • Luckhurst believed The Time Machine was an excellent novel that Wells used to express many points. • He says, “What I want to do here is establish how in The Time Machine, Wells crystallized the possibilities of the scientific romance from inside an evolutionary paradigm.” • Luckhurst really enjoyed the book, and Wells’ other writings, and is striving to praise his accomplishments.

• Luckhurst is using his article to show how the Time Machine was not only a novel. • He uses Allen’s work as a precursor to Wells’ work, and then uses Bellamy’s ideas as a type of proof. • By doing this, Luckhurst somewhat concretes his appreciation to the Time Machine.