Towards the end of his career, Wells write this book, in which he outlined his vision of Utopia. This is the story of a Mr. Barnstaple, an everyday man, who finds himself propelled into a parallel universe with a group of famous politicians, aristocrats, and their chauffeurs. The world they find themselves in has abolished all disease, and everyone only works at what takes their fancy. The inhabitants of this world speak telepathically, and recognise that the Earth is curre...
This story is essentially the history of the opening and of the realisation of the Great War as it happened to one small group of people in Essex, and more particularly as it happened to one human brain. „Mr. Britling Sees It Through” begins with a lighthearted account of an American visiting England for the first time, but the outbreak of war changes everything. Day by day and month by month, Wells chronicles the unfolding events and public reaction as witnessed by the inh...
Often called the father of science fiction, British author Herbert George Wells literary works are notable for being some of the first titles of the science fiction genre. „Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island” is a 1928 novel by H. G. Wells. It tells the story of a young Englishman Arnold Blettsworthy who, after being betrayed by a business partner, is advised to go travelling in an attempt to recover from his severe disillusionment. During the voyage the ship is wrecked and...
This novel is split into two parts, „The Utopographer in the Garden” and „Advent”. The former is set on the Italian Riviera where the novel’s central figures, a British couple, The Rylands, entertain guests. The latter, written largely in the form of letters between the couple during the husband’s trip to London, provides commentary on British political landscape of the 1920’s. A pretty good book, detailed discussions on Socialism, Communism, Utopia and so on. This novel wa...
„Marriage” is a surprising story about relationships and people by science fiction legend, H.G. Wells. It features two protagonists: Marjorie Pope, the oldest daughter of a carriage manufacturer whose business has been ruined by the advent of the automobile, and R. A. G. Trafford, a physicist specializing in crystallography whom she marries against the wishes of her family at the age of 21. The novel traces the history of their relationship, which begins when an early airpl...
Mr. Lewisham is an ambitious young teacher who has grand plans for his future. Indeed he has written up a Plan or Schema as he calls it and has committed himself to daily study to improve himself. We follow him as he moves to London and becomes a student. He also gets married and the later part of the novel is about how his naive beliefs about himself and the world survive this transition. „Love and Mr. Lewisham” is the story of a young man who seeks to better himself and a...
Arthur Kipps, an orphaned draper’s assistant of humble means, unexpectedly inherits a large sum of money and that is when all his troubles begin. After being left a fortune by a rich uncle, Kipps finds himself in a position to marry Helen Walshingham. His main problem is that he is uneducated, knowing next to nothing of the world of books or the manners of the society he aspires to join. Helen, together with Kipps’s mentor Chester Coote, set about the task of making him a g...
„In the Days of the Comet” is set in early 20th century England and covers Willie, a socialist who is angry and frustrated with everything to do with the world he lives in. The only thing Willie finds beautiful and tranquil is the love of his life, Nettie. The story follows Willie and his lust for Nettie as he finds himself perplexed by what the love of his life decides to do. The comet is referred back to quite often and eventually, when it hits, it brings some sort of cle...
Wells’s satire on literature, „Boon” was originally published under the pseudonym Reginald Bliss; a follow-up to the Fabian-savaging „The New Machiavelli”. It purports, however, to be by the fictional character Reginald Bliss, and for some time after publication Wells denied authorship. „Boon” is best known for its part in Wells’s debate on the nature of literature with Henry James, who is caricatured in the book. But in „Boon” Wells also mocks himself, calling into questio...
The book starts in late Victorian England and ends shortly after the first world war. It covers the transition between the end of the Victorian era, and the aimlessness of the next generation very well. The main characters grow up with the best education that can be found in England at the time, which is freely admitted to be not very good. They grow up and deal with love, decadence and the reality of war in a very meaningful way. Beautiful and brilliant this remarkable nov...
A charming tale of a young recalcitrant boy’s wanderings through England. Full of humour. It is a light tale, and one of Wells’ that holds up the best. Though young Bealby is determined to rise above his mother’s servant status, no amount of struggle helps him to prevail. He reluctantly leaves his home for Shonts, a big country house, to work as a steward’s boy. But a fateful weekend visit by distinguished personages, including the strange yet captivating Lord Chancellor, m...
Stella has it all – looks, intelligence and an undergraduate place at Cambridge, not to mention Gemini, her fervent admirer at Oxford. Stella and Gemini, the two babes of the story, come increasingly under the influence of a rather impressive psycho-therapeutist whose groundbreaking theories capture their imaginations. But when tragedy strikes they are soon to learn that intellectualism brings cold comfort. When James is disowned by his wrathful relatives, he goes to Russia...
Short story told as an allegory set in the future, in form of narrative, with some trenchant remarks on the current situation, and a brilliant introduction to which the balance fails to measure up. Dialogs between God and Mr. Noah Lammock planning a new Ark in which the best of mankind may be rescued from the new flood of war and horror. Wells-Lammock querying of Biblical history is irreverent but amusing, but the plans which follow, for the Аrk and its voyaging, bog down c...
First published in 1909, it focuses on feminist issues from the point of view of a young woman entering adulthood and enduring prejudice about her place in the world. And this novel, „Ann Veronica”, tells the story of a middle class young woman who is fed up of being expected to be purely decorative. Her father and her boyfriends really are incapable of understanding why she should want to study science, or control her own life in any way. One Wednesday, Ann Veronica Stanle...
H.G Wells wrote many tales of adventure and exploration, which were fascinating to early twentieth century readers as transportation to faraway lands was so difficult back then. Wells’ „Modern Utopia” was first published in 1905. It set the scene for many modern, scientific utopias and dystopias. The story is set on a planet very like earth. The Utopian Planet differs from earth in that the inhabitants have created a perfect society. Two men, the narrator and his colleague ...
In The Pilot (1824), James Fenimore Cooper invented a new literary genre: the sea novel. Bold, vigorous, original, it is a tale of high adventure that vividly captures the majesty and power of the seafaring life. Cooper drew on his direct knowledge of ships and sailors to present a truer picture of life on the sea than had ever before achieved in literature. As a boy of seventeen he had experienced the life of a common seaman, learned the craft of sailing, encountered terri...
Znakomita komedia mistrza teatru elżbietańskiego – choć różnie oceniana przez krytyków, czasem mało pochlebnie, jest jednak jedną z najczęściej wystawianych stuk Szekspira i uwielbianą przez czytelników po dziś dzień. Zapewnia znakomitą rozrywkę, urzekając celnymi i błyskotliwymi dialogami, wyraziście zarysowanymi, pełnymi humoru postaciami i niezwykłym stosunkiem do natury.
„Juliusz Cezar” to dramat Szekspira oparty na prawdziwych wydarzeniach rozgrywających się w początkach naszej ery w Rzymie. Tytułowa postać nie gra jednak głównej roli – akcja skupia się na wątku spisku przeciwko dyktatorowi. Za spiskiem stoi Brutus, którego rozterki wewnętrzne doprowadzą do czynów, dzięki którym zapisze się – wcale nie złotymi zgłoskami – w historii.
Dramatyczna opowieść o władzy, szaleństwie, zawiści, zbrodni i... miłości. Duch poprzedniego króla Danii zdradza swemu synowi, młodemu królewiczowi Hamletowi tajemnicę o morderstwie, którego padł ofiarą. Hamlet symuluje obłęd, aby upewnić się w intencjach nowego króla i dowieść mu popełnionych czynów, a następnie zrealizować ojcowskie zalecenie i dokonać zemsty.
Tytułowi bohaterowie to Valentine i Proteus. Utwór opowiada o ich relacjach – balansujących między przyjaźnią a miłością, który to temat często wracał w renesansowych rozważaniach. Wyprawa do Mediolanu stanie się dla obu polem nowych doświadczeń. W sprawę uwikłane są także kobiety, których obecność i działania zmuszają mężczyzn do konfrontacji z własnymi pragnieniami, ideałami i decyzjami.
Głównym tematem komediowej „Szkoły żon” uczynił Molier zazdrość. Zatwardziały stary kawaler Arnolf postanawia zmienić stan cywilny, ale na własnych warunkach – planuje pojąć za żonę swoją wychowanicę Anusię, nad której dorastaniem czuwał i co – jak przypuszcza – zaowocuje udanym małżeństwem. Miłość to jednak materia delikatna i nie wszystko udaje się zaplanować.
Komedia Moliera oparta zarówno na wątkach obyczajowych, jak i na cechach charakterologicznych bohaterów. Mizantropia głównego bohatera Alcesta rodzi się z postawy bezwzględnej szczerości wobec ludzi, bez liczenia się z ich uczuciami i zabiegania o ich względy. Alcest bez wahania głosi krytykę osób ze swojego otoczenia, co oczywiście rodzi stosowne reakcje. Czy Alcest wytrwa mimo wszystko w przekonaniu o słuszności swojej postawy?
W „Uczonych białogłowach” Molier wyśmiewa snobowanie się na intelektualizm, zwłaszcza w wydaniu kobiecym. Jak odbierany jest człowiek, który dużo czyta, ale mało rozumie? Molier ujawnia salonowe gierki i powierzchowność obycia obliczone na zrobienie wrażenia, często okazuje się jednak, że bezpodstawnego. W ferworze wydarzeń ludzie i tak pokazują prawdziwe oblicza – zachłanne, zazdrosne i małostkowe.
Dramat mistyczny Juliusza Słowackiego prezentuje losy księdza Marka podczas konfederacji barskiej, którą Słowacki uważał za kluczowy moment w dziejach Rzeczpospolitej. Postać wzorowana jest na autentycznej osobie karmelity Marka Jandołowicza, jednak autor wyniósł ją do rangi symbolu tych dramatycznych wydarzeń. Uosabia on przemianę dziejową, dążenie do budowy nowego, lepszego państwa, a także ofiarę, którą trzeba ponieść, aby nowe mogło się dokonać.
