Michael Dirda
…a disturbing comic masterpiece…despite its perfectly innocuous title, The History of Mr. Polly islong before Camus and Sartre ever wrotea classic of radical existentialism, and, after 100 years, still amusing, unsettling and powerfully contemporary.
The Washington Post
Library Journal
Though Wells's name conjures images of time travelers and Martian invaders, he wrote numerous other novels that were well received but since forgotten. This trio-two comedies and a drama-serve as perfect examples. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
From the Publisher
'The History of Mr Polly (1910) is a disturbing comic masterpiece . . . a more gently satirical and masculine counterpart to Flaubert's Madame Bovary . . . a classic of radical existentialism, and, after 100 years, still amusing, unsettling and powerfully contemporary 'Washington Post
Widely considered to be Wells's most perfectly-formed novel, this comic idyll is the story of a henpecked, unsuccessful, desperately frustrated small shopkeeper who bungles but survives a suicide-and-arson attempt, and becomes master of his fate under another identityDavid Lodge, GUARDIAN
H.G. Wells is often cataloged as a pioneer of science fiction (which he was) . . . but he was also a great Edwardian writer of immense fame and influence who deserves to be remembered as a major literary figureGUARDIAN
A delightful comedy of everyday Edwardian England that draws inspiration from its author's own life . . . The story - still strikingly modern - is a comedy about a midlife crisis . . . a comedy of ordinary, provincial life, rooted in the everyday, with countless brilliantly observed details . . . The History of Mr Polly has a special charm as a novel in which, for once, Wells became carefree and relaxed, and described the thing he could never find for himself - peace of mindRobert McCrum, Guardian