The Time Machine by: H.G. Wells The Scientific Romance and the Evolutionary Paradigm By: Roger Luckhurst

Presented By: Andy Wahba Ben Baker Ryan Gress

Roger Luckhurst Roger is a Professor at Birkbeck College, University of London. He wrote many reviews about stories. that were written in the late 19th Century. In 1995 he won SFRA for his review "The Many Deaths of Science Fiction: A Polemic."

The Scientific Romance and the Evolutionary Paradigm H.G. Wells did not only write about Scientific Fiction in the 1890’s. He also wrote about Gothic Tales (Island of Dr. Moreau) Social Comedies (Wheels of Chance) Whimsical fantasies about angelic visitations (The Wonderful Visit) Journalisms (Certain Personal Matters)

Wells’ Idea Wells received some ideas for his scientific writings from Grant Allen. Allen was a seasoned writer in Scientific Novels. His most famous novel was “Physiological Aesthetics.” Basically Allen paved the way for Wells’ Scientific Romance ideas.

Wells’ Idea Continued… With Wells’ accomplishments in writing during the 1890s, scientific romance became such a popular topic it joined the normal conversation of the day. Wells simply used scientific experiments and theories and organized them into an interesting story which people would enjoy reading and could, in some ways, relate to. Wells popularized what Allen was trying to produce years before, and he suceeded.

Luckhurst on The Time Machine Luckhurst believed The Time Machine was an excellent novel that Wells used to express many points. He says, “What I want to do here is establish how in The Time Machine, Wells crystallized the possibilities of the scientific romance from inside an evolutionary paradigm.” Luckhurst really enjoyed the book, and Wells’ other writings, and is striving to praise his accomplishments.

Luckhurst’s Helper… Luckhurst writes about a science fiction author of that time: Edward Bellamy Bellamy, who wrote Looking Backward, was an evolutionist that thought Wells’ Time Machine was actually scientifically correct in the forecast of what the world would be like in thousands of years.

Conclusion Luckhurst is using his article to show how the Time Machine was not only a novel. He uses Allen’s work as a precursor to Wells’ work, and then uses Bellamy’s ideas as a type of proof. By doing this, Luckhurst somewhat concretes his appreciation to the Time Machine.