The History of Mr Polly
Well's brilliant social novel, ranked #39 on The Guardian's list of 100 Best Novels

Mr Polly is an ordinary middle-aged man who is tired of his wife's nagging and his dreary job as the owner of a regional gentleman's outfitters. Faced with the threat of bankruptcy, he concludes that the only way to escape his frustrating existence is by burning his shop to the ground, and killing himself. Unexpected events, however, conspire at the last moment to lead the bewildered Mr Polly to a bright new future - after he saves a life, fakes his death, and escapes to a life of hero'sm, hope and ultimate happiness.

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.
1116799778
The History of Mr Polly
Well's brilliant social novel, ranked #39 on The Guardian's list of 100 Best Novels

Mr Polly is an ordinary middle-aged man who is tired of his wife's nagging and his dreary job as the owner of a regional gentleman's outfitters. Faced with the threat of bankruptcy, he concludes that the only way to escape his frustrating existence is by burning his shop to the ground, and killing himself. Unexpected events, however, conspire at the last moment to lead the bewildered Mr Polly to a bright new future - after he saves a life, fakes his death, and escapes to a life of hero'sm, hope and ultimate happiness.

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.
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Overview

Well's brilliant social novel, ranked #39 on The Guardian's list of 100 Best Novels

Mr Polly is an ordinary middle-aged man who is tired of his wife's nagging and his dreary job as the owner of a regional gentleman's outfitters. Faced with the threat of bankruptcy, he concludes that the only way to escape his frustrating existence is by burning his shop to the ground, and killing himself. Unexpected events, however, conspire at the last moment to lead the bewildered Mr Polly to a bright new future - after he saves a life, fakes his death, and escapes to a life of hero'sm, hope and ultimate happiness.

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780141441078
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date: 12/27/2005
Series: Penguin Classics
Edition description: New
Pages: 272
Sales rank: 696,136
Product dimensions: 5.10(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.61(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

About The Author
H.G. Wells was a professional writer and journalist, who published more than a hundred books, including novels, histories, essays and programmes for world regeneration. Wells's prophetic imagination was first displayed in pioneering works of science fiction, but later he became an apostle of socialism, science and progress. His controversial views on sexual equality and the shape of a truly developed nation remain directly relevant to our world today. He was, in Bertrand Russell's words, 'an important liberator of thought and action'.

John Sutherland is the Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London and a visiting professor of Literature at the California Institute of Technology. He is the author of many books.

Simon J. James is Lecturer in Victorian Literature at the University of Durham. He has written on, and edited volumes of, George Gissing, H.G. Wells and Charles Dickens.

Date of Birth:

September 21, 1866

Date of Death:

August 13, 1946

Place of Birth:

Bromley, Kent, England

Place of Death:

London, England

Education:

Normal School of Science, London, England

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

The History of MR Polly

1 Beginnings, and the Bazaar 1

2 The Dismissal of Parsons 19

3 Cribs 28

4 Mr Polly an Orphan 37

5 Romance 56

6 Miriam 74

7 The Little Shop at Fishbourne 101

8 Making an End to Things 123

9 The Potwell Inn 140

10 Miriam Revisited 177

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