Books

First edition, first impression, presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title, "W. W. Jacobs from H. G. Wells", with the recipient's embroidered silk bookmark laid in. The recipient was Wells's friend and fellow writer, the author of the enduring "The Monkey's Paw", which is frequently anthologized and studied alongside Wells's "The Moth". Despite being left-wing in his youth, Jacobs described his political opinions in later years as "conservative and individualistic", and he was on friendly terms with Wells, despite openly disdaining his politics. Although W. W. Jacobs's popularity has fallen in contrast to that of Wells, at one time only Kipling commanded a higher price for short fiction in The Strand Magazine. Originally serialized in Pearson's Weekly in 1897, The Invisible Man was influential in establishing Wells's reputation as the father of science fiction. Octavo. Original red cloth, titles to front board and spine gilt, device to front board in black. Housed in a red quarter morocco solander box by the Chelsea Bindery. Contents browned as usual, spine faded and a little rolled, rear inside board slightly affected by damp with a little bleed onto endpapers, still very good. Wells Soc.11; Hammond B4; Currey p. 520.

H.G. Wells's "The Invisible Man" tells the story of a scientist named Griffin who discovers the secret to becoming invisible. With themes of unchecked scientific ambition and the consequences of isolation, this novel remains one of Wells's most enduring and thought-provoking works.