Books

Inscribed by the author ink to the front free endpaper, 'To the Reverend H. Symonds from his Obedient, Respectful Friend, H.G. Wells'; small 8vo (650 x 115 mm); illustrated frontispiece and engraved title-page, mild toning to paper, else internally fine; publisher's red cloth, blind panelled, gilt spine, minor soiling and rubbing to extremities, slight shelf lean, otherwise very good. Probably the most famous of H.G. Wells' 'scientific romances', in which a scientist finds a way of turning himself invisible without the means to make himself visible again. Wells explores the morality of being able to go unseen, which causes the protagonist to become mentally unstable. Originally serialised in Pearson's Weekly in 1897, The Invisible Man was published as a novel the same year. This copy is number 88 in the Nelson's Library Series and undated but we estimate circa 1915. The Reverend Henry Herbert Symonds (1885-1958) was an English Anglican priest, teacher and conservationist. He retired at the age of 50, and devoted his life to the cause of national parks, and the Lake District in particular. He was one of the principal driving forces behind the legislation that introduced national parks to Britain after the Second World War.

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.