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    The Passionate Friends: Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative.
    The Passionate Friends: Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative.
    The Passionate Friends: Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative.
    Ebook365 pages6 hours

    The Passionate Friends: Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative.

    By H. G. Wells

    3.5/5

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    Herbert George Wells was born on September 21st, 1866 at Atlas House, 46 High Street, Bromley, Kent. He was the youngest of four siblings and his family affectionately knew him as ‘Bertie’. The first few years of his childhood were spent fairly quietly, and Wells didn’t display much literary interest until, in 1874, he accidentally broke his leg and was left to recover in bed, largely entertained by the library books his father regularly brought him. Through these Wells found he could escape the boredom and misery of his bed and convalescence by exploring the new worlds he encountered in these books. From these humble beginnings began a career that was, after several delays, to be seen as one of the most brilliant of modern English writers. Able to write comfortably in a number of genres he was especially applauded for his science fiction works such as The Time Machine and War of the Worlds but his forays into the social conditions of the times, with classics such as Kipps, were almost as commercially successful. His short stories are miniature masterpieces many of which bring new and incredible ideas of science fiction to the edge of present day science fact. Wells also received four nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Despite a strong and lasting second marriage his affairs with other women also brought the complications of fathering other children. His writings and work against fascism, as well as the promotion of socialism, brought him into increasing doubts with and opposition to religion. His writings on what the world could be in works, such as A Modern Utopia, are thought provoking as well as being plausible, especially when viewed from the distressing times they were written in. His diabetic condition pushed him to create what is now the largest Diabetes charity in the United Kingdom. Wells even found the time to run twice for Parliament. It was a long, distinguished and powerfully successful career by the time he died, aged 79, on August 13th, 1946.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHorse's Mouth
    Release dateJan 8, 2016
    ISBN9781785435461
    The Passionate Friends: Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative.
    Author

    H. G. Wells

    H.G. Wells is considered by many to be the father of science fiction. He was the author of numerous classics such as The Invisible Man, The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The War of the Worlds, and many more. 

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    3.5/5

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    • 4/5
      This is a slow mover, slower even than many of Wells' other social novels, but the time it takes is appropriate to the story it tells. It's ultimately a sad novel, though it strives to uplift at the same time.The Passionate Friends (1913) is one of three books Wells wrote about social justice and feminism, along with Marriage (1912) and The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman (1914). I'm reading them backwards myself, but I'm not sure that matters.The Passionate Friends explores the relationship between Stephen and Mary. Mary's desire for independence leads her to reject marrying Stephen, since he's below her in stature. She can't see who she could have the freedom she craves if she were to become a housewife; it's impossible to imagine Stephen doing the tasks she'd be expected to do if they married. Stephen is a fairly traditional Edwardian gentleman, not opposed to feminsim in principle but unable to grasp the fundamentals and how they affect him. His intense jealousy as Mary marries a rather bland but wealthy man, who is willing to cede her the freedom she craves, demonstrates this. Of course, this is not true freedom, and when Mary and Stephen are discovered in an affair her huband revokes her privileges. I found Mary's fumblings for independence fascinating and quite sad, since she sees no other options open to her but to marry as well as she can. Stephen, like many of Wells' characters, is deeply flawed in his blindness to her motivations. Though he is the narrator (the novel is written as a memoir for Stephen's son to read and learn from), it is obvious he is not a reliable narrator when it comes to Mary. He remains oblivious to the hints she drops about her 'untimely but very feminine illness' that occured shortly after they were forced apart, for example, and both he and her husband couch their love of her time terms of possessing her. No matter how much she objects to this, neither can imagine loving her without possessing her, without reducing her to the status of an object to be admired. Stephen is somewhat redeemed by the fact he is telling this story in the hopes his son will avoid his mistakes, and to continue Stephen's question for global understanding. Though Stephen struggles to recognise that this global understanding is an understanding between men, I think the underlying message of the novel is that it cannot be just between men, but must make an effort to include women as well.As with 'The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman', the male characters struggle to understand the female, and their narration reflects this. However, one gets the impression Wells' very definitely understands his female characters and their motivations, and using the technique of the unreliable narrator in order to bring his ideas across subtly. Like trying to persuade your boss that your brilliant idea is actually theirs, so they'll implement, so Wells persuades the reader that the fact they understand the motivations of the female characters is due entirely to their own intelligence, not his.
    • 2/5
      This novel was pretty rough to get through. I didn't feel attached to any of it and it was an arduous journey just to follow through the motions of reading it. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this- even for people who are huge fans of Wells. It missed the mark entirely.1.5 stars.

    Book preview

    The Passionate Friends - H. G. Wells

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