Herbert George Wells was one of the most prolific and most popular writers of short fiction of his era and of the twentieth century. Some of his longer fictions, such as The Time Machine: An Invention (1895) and The War of the Worlds (1898), have formed the basis of well-known radio and screen productions; one or two tales nearly always find their way into anthologies of the modern short story and science fiction. Over the years the tastes of the reading public have changed, however, and his work has not always fared well; also, reading deeply in the stories is not always as rewarding as reading selectively, for themes and characters, too often repeated, begin to sound stale on successive encounters. Nevertheless, H. G. Wells remains one of the most important innovators in the history of short fiction.

Wells's career as a writer of short fiction is remarkable both for...