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The Wheels of Chance

by H. G. Wells

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Pages: 128

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About this book

Behind a Putney drapery counter, Mr. Hoopdriver sells linen and blankets with practiced politeness while dreaming of his next attempt at cycling. His bruises tell a less orderly story than his shop clothes suggest. Wells introduces him through the awkward business of learning to mount, steer and dismount a heavy bicycle, turning everyday mishaps into a comic portrait of a working man's appetite for freedom.

The satire also reaches a circle of respectable people pursuing Jessie after she leaves her comfortable Surbiton home. Stranded in a village inn, they worry about her choices while revealing their own vanity and conflicting ideas about independence. Mrs. Milton's talk of teaching new ideas through fiction becomes especially pointed when she objects to putting them into practice. The novel offers a look at social manners and the gap between confident principles and uncomfortable experience.

About the author

H. G. Wells

Herbert George Wells was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than forty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, history, popular science, satire, biography, and autobiography.