The Reception of H.G. Wells in Europe

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H.G. Wells was described by one of his European critics as a 'seismograph of his age'. He is one of the founding fathers of modern science fiction, and as a novelist, essayist, educationalist and political propagandist his influence has been felt in every European country. This collection of essays by scholarly experts shows the varied and dramatic nature of Wells's reception, including translations, critical appraisals, novels and films on Wellsian themes, and responses to his own well-publicized visits to Russia and elsewhere. The authors chart the intense ideological debate that his writings occasioned, particularly in the inter-war years, and the censorship of his books in Nazi Germany and Francoist Spain. This book offers pioneering insights into Wells's contribution to 20th century European literature and to modern political ideas, including the idea of European union. Reception of H.G. Wells in Europe Review

Reviews

'an ambitious and always informative review of European reactions to Well and his work...Parrinder and Partinger collect a wealth of information, much of it translated into English for the first time, in readable essays of uniform quality.' ~ Kritikon Litterarum, 33 (2006)
(FR) Elinor Shaffer, grande spcialiste de littrature compare de l'Universit de Londres ..., aura eu tt fait de rendre incontournable la rcente collection d'ouvrages voquant la rception d'auteurs britanniques, et publie par Thoemmes Continuum dans la srie Athlone Critical Traditions . Le remarquable volume inaugural consacr Virginia Woolf en 2002 a t suivi, en quatre courtes annes, d'une liste impressionnante de titres [qui] mobilisent la mme nergie collective l'chelle internationale. (EN)`Elinor Shaffer, an eminent specialist in comparative literature, from the University of London...will have made it impossible to circumvent the recent collection of works evoking the reception of British authors, published by Continuum in the series "Athlone Critical Traditions". The remarkable inaugural volume devoted to Virginia Woolf in 2002 was followed, in four short years, by an impressive list of titles [each] mobilising the same collective energy on an international scale. (FR)Parce qu'il tient la fois de l'tude bibliographique l'chelle europenne, et de l'analyse thorique de la rception de l'uvre littraire, ce livre fait pleinement honneur la collection soigne qui l'abrite, tout en offrant un nouvel outil prcieux au lecteur de Wells.' (EN)...because it holds the bibliographical study on a European scale, and the theoretical analysis of the reception of the literary oeuvre, this book fully honours the neat collection which shelters it, while offering a new invaluable tool to Wells readers.' Extract from Christine Huguet (Universit de Lille III), Etudes Anglaises, 60.2 (2007): 246-47.
The Reception of H. G. Wells in Europe is a landmark. The timeline, and the extensive bibliographies to each chapter, give the reader the important maps of the territory which are needed to consider just what, of Wells, was published when, and what was said about him ... Wellsians will need this research, but generalists in science fiction studies will gain a vast amount from it, and anyone interested in the construction of European science fiction will gain a great deal of knowledge (and pleasure) from browsing through it.' - Foundation

Author Bio

John S. Partington was the editor of The Wellsian.