Christina Alberta's Father

In the months following his wife's death, Mr. Preemby, a retired laundryman becomes convinced that he is the incarnation of Sargon, the ancient king of Sumeria, returned to save a world upturned by the First World War. Trying to make sense of Mr Preemby is his stepdaughter, Christina Alberta. A masterclass in comic invention, Christina Alberta's Father depicts characters who long for something to believe in, just so long as it is not 'some horrible Utopia by Wells', but whose attempts to change the world are always doomed to disappointment. Whether taken as a social satire, a psychological study or a critique of Wells's own beliefs and relationships, Christina Alberta's Father makes for a fascinating and delightful read. About the Author H. G. Wells, the third son of a small shopkeeper, was born in Bromley in 1866. After two years' apprenticeship in a draper's shop, he became a pupil-teacher at Midhurst Grammar School and won a scholarship to study under T. H. Huxley at the Normal School of Science, South Kensington. He taught biology before becoming a professional writer and journalist. He wrote more than a hundred books, including novels, essays, histories and programmes for world regeneration. Wells, who rose from obscurity to world fame, had an emotionally and intellectually turbulent life. His prophetic imagination was first displayed in pioneering works of science fiction such as The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897) and The War of the Worlds (1898). Later he became an apostle of socialism, science and progress, whose anticipations of a future world state include The Shape of Things to Come (1933). His controversial views on sexual equality and women's rights were expressed in the novels Ann Veronica (1909) and The New Machiavelli (1911). He was, in Bertrand Russell's words, 'an important liberator of thought and action'. Wells drew on his own early struggles in many of his best novels, including Love and Mr Lewisham (1900), Kipps (1905), Tono-Bungay (1909) and The History of Mr Polly (1910). His educational works, some written in collaboration, include The Outline of History (1920) and The Science of Life (1930). His Experiment in Autobiography (2 vols., 1934) reviews his world. He died in London in 1946.