The Wheels of Chance A Bicycling Idy..., H. G. Wells
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The Wheels of Chance: A Bicycling Idyll

Author: H. G. Wells

Narrator: John Burlinson

Unabridged: 8 hr 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/13/2024


Synopsis

Mr. Hoopdriver is a frustrated draper’s assistant in Putney, London. He is badly paid, over-worked, and he needs a holiday. He also owns a bicycle—though he is an awkward rider. When his annual ten days’ holiday comes around, Mr. Hoopdriver sets out on a bicycling tour of the “Southern Coast.” Will this adventure be enough to shake up the dreariness of his ordinary life? Will his escapist flights of fancy end in disaster? And what should he make of the constant reappearance of the “Young Lady in Grey”?Wells wrote this story at the height of the bicycling craze and before the automobile. The bicycle gave freedom to the working class, weakened the English class structure and gave a boost to female emancipation. In his story he explores these changes.

Author Bio

Herbert George Wells, better known as H. G. Wells, was a novelist, journalist, sociologist, and historian who wrote over 100 books. His novels are among the classic works of science fiction. His works, which go beyond ordinary adventure stories, are thought-provoking, forcing the reader to examine the future of mankind.

Wells was born in Bromley, Kent, in 1866. His father was a shopkeeper and a professional cricketer until he broke his leg. Wells studied biology at the Normal School of Science in London and later taught in several private schools. In 1893, he became a full-time writer. He married one of his brightest students, Amy Catherine, in 1895.

Wells earned his reputation with a string of science fiction novels, including The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and The Invisible Man. In 1938, his realistic portrayal of a martian invasion in The War of the Worlds caused a panic across the United States when it was performed as a radio broadcast by actor Orson Wells. His science fiction stories have since become some of the most filmed works of all time.

Between the two world wars, Wells lived mainly in France. Beyond his literary career, he was the president of an international peace organization (PEN) from 1934 to 1946. In this capacity, he had discussions with both Stalin and Roosevelt, trying to recruit them to his world-saving schemes. However, he later became disillusioned with the cause of peace when global war broke out for the second time in a generation. Throughout the Second World War, Wells lived in his house on Regent's Park, refusing to let the blitz drive him out of London. He died there on August 13, 1946.

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