The Country of the Blind and Other Stories
Encyclopedia
The Country of the Blind and Other Stories is a collection of thirty-three fantasy
and science fiction
short stories
written by the English
author
H. G. Wells
between 1894 and 1909. It was first published by Thomas Nelson and Sons
in 1911. All the stories had first been published in various weekly and monthly periodicals
. Twenty-seven of the stories had also been previously published in five earlier story collections by Wells.
The title of this collection refers to one of Wells's best known short stories, "The Country of the Blind
", which is included in this book.
" and "A Story of the Days To Come
" in his earlier collection, Tales of Space and Time
(1899), "no short story of mine of the slightest merit is excluded from this volume."
in which they were first published.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
written by the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
between 1894 and 1909. It was first published by Thomas Nelson and Sons
Thomas Nelson (publisher)
Thomas Nelson is a publishing firm that began in Scotland in 1798 as the namesake of its founder. Its former US division is currently the sixth largest American trade publisher and the world's largest Christian publisher. It is owned by the private equity firm Kohlberg & Company...
in 1911. All the stories had first been published in various weekly and monthly periodicals
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
. Twenty-seven of the stories had also been previously published in five earlier story collections by Wells.
The title of this collection refers to one of Wells's best known short stories, "The Country of the Blind
The Country of the Blind
"The Country of the Blind" is a short story written by H. G. Wells. It was first published in the April 1904 issue of the Strand Magazine and included in a 1911 collection of Wells's short stories, The Country of the Blind and Other Stories...
", which is included in this book.
Introduction
In his introduction to this book, Wells wrote that this collection covers "all the short stories by me that I care for any one to read again." He went on to say that except for the two sets of linked stories "A Story of the Stone AgeA Story of the Stone Age
"A Story of the Stone Age" is a short story written in 1897 by H. G. Wells.The story was featured in three parts between May and August 1897 in The Idler magazine, and was later released in collected editions. The story is set during the Stone Age, and tells of a caveman named Ugh-lomi, who kills...
" and "A Story of the Days To Come
A Story of the Days to Come
"A Story of the Days To Come" is a novella by H. G. Wells comprising five chapters that was first published in the June to October 1897 issues of The Pall Mall Magazine...
" in his earlier collection, Tales of Space and Time
Tales of Space and Time
Tales of Space and Time is a fantasy and science fiction collection of three short stories and two novellas written by the English author H. G. Wells between 1897 and 1898. It was first published by Doubleday & McClure Co. in 1899...
(1899), "no short story of mine of the slightest merit is excluded from this volume."
Contents
These are the short stories contained in this collection showing the periodicalsMagazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
in which they were first published.
- "The Jilting of Jane" (Pall Mall BudgetPall Mall GazetteThe Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood...
, 12 July 1894) 2 3 - "The Cone" (Unicorn, 18 September 1895) 2 3
- "The Stolen Bacillus" (Pall Mall BudgetPall Mall GazetteThe Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood...
, 21 June 1894) 1 3 - "The Flowering of the Strange Orchid" (Pall Mall BudgetPall Mall GazetteThe Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood...
, 2 August 1894) 1 - "In the Avu Observatory" (Pall Mall BudgetPall Mall GazetteThe Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood...
, 9 August 1894) 1 3 - "Æpyornis Island" (Pall Mall BudgetPall Mall GazetteThe Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood...
, 27 December 1894) 1 3 - "The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes" (Pall Mall BudgetPall Mall GazetteThe Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood...
, 28 March 1895) 1 - "The Lord of the Dynamos" (Pall Mall BudgetPall Mall GazetteThe Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood...
, 6 September 1894) 1 3 - "The Moth" (Pall Mall GazettePall Mall GazetteThe Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood...
, 28 March 1895) 1 3 - "The Treasure in the Forest" (Pall Mall BudgetPall Mall GazetteThe Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood...
, 23 August 1894) 1 3 - "The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham" (The IdlerThe Idler (1892-1911)The Idler was an illustrated monthly magazine published in Great Britain from 1892 to 1911. It was founded by the author Robert Barr, who brought in the humorist Jerome K. Jerome as co-editor, and its contributors included many of the leading writers and illustrators of the time.-Content:The Idler...
, May 1896) 2 3 - "Under the Knife" (The New Review, January 1896) 2
- "The Sea Raiders" (The Weekly Sun Literary Supplement, 6 December 1896) 2 3
- "The Obliterated Man" (New Budget, 15 August 1895 as "The Sad Story of a Dramatic Critic") 2 3
- "The Plattner Story" (The New Review, April 1896) 2 3
- "The Red RoomThe Red Room (Wells)"The Red Room" is a novels written by H. G. Wells in 1894. It was first published in the March 1896 edition of The Idler magazine.-Plot summary:...
" (The IdlerThe Idler (1892-1911)The Idler was an illustrated monthly magazine published in Great Britain from 1892 to 1911. It was founded by the author Robert Barr, who brought in the humorist Jerome K. Jerome as co-editor, and its contributors included many of the leading writers and illustrators of the time.-Content:The Idler...
, March 1896) 2 3 - "The Purple Pileus" (Black and WhiteBlack and White (magazine)Black and White: A Weekly Illustrated Record and Review was a British illustrated weekly periodical founded in 1891 by Charles Norris Williamson. In 1912 it was incorporated with The Sphere....
, December 1896) 2 3 - "A Slip Under the Microscope" (The Yellow BookYellow BookThe Yellow Book, published in London from 1894 to 1897 by Elkin Mathews and John Lane, later by John Lane alone, and edited by the American Henry Harland, was a quarterly literary periodical that lent its name to the "Yellow" 1890s....
, January 1896) 2 3 - "The Crystal EggThe Crystal Egg"The Crystal Egg" is a science fiction short story written by H. G. Wells in 1897.The story tells of a shop owner, named Mr. Cave, who finds a strange crystal egg that serves as a window into the planet Mars....
" (The New Review, May 1897) 4 - "The Star" (The GraphicThe GraphicThe Graphic was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company Illustrated Newspapers Limited....
, December 1897) 4 - "The Man Who Could Work MiraclesThe Man Who Could Work Miracles (story)"The Man Who Could Work Miracles" is a British fantasy–comedy short story by H. G. Wells first published in 1898 in The Illustrated London News.-Plot summary:...
" (The Illustrated London NewsIllustrated London NewsThe Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
, July 1898) 4 - "A Vision of Judgement" (Butterfly, September 1899)
- "Jimmy Goggles the God" (The GraphicThe GraphicThe Graphic was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company Illustrated Newspapers Limited....
, December 1898) 5 - "Miss Winchelsea's Heart" (The Queen, October 1898) 5
- "A Dream of Armageddon" (Black and WhiteBlack and White (magazine)Black and White: A Weekly Illustrated Record and Review was a British illustrated weekly periodical founded in 1891 by Charles Norris Williamson. In 1912 it was incorporated with The Sphere....
, May/June 1901) 5 - "The Valley of Spiders" (Pearson’s Magazine, March 1903) 5
- "The New Accelerator" (The StrandStrand MagazineThe Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
, December 1901) 5 - "The Truth About Pyecraft" (The StrandStrand MagazineThe Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
, April 1903) 5 - "The Magic Shop" (The StrandStrand MagazineThe Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
, June 1903) 5 - "The Empire of the AntsEmpire of the Ants"Empire of the Ants" is a 1905 short story by H. G. Wells, which inspired a film of the same title in 1977. The story involves an explorer who is dispatched to South America to investigate reports of intelligent ants destroying a colony. It was published in 1905 in The Strand...
" (The StrandStrand MagazineThe Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
, December 1905) - "The Door in the Wall" (The Daily ChronicleDaily ChronicleThe Daily Chronicle was a British newspaper that was published from 1872 to 1930 when it merged with the Daily News to become the News Chronicle.-History:...
, 14 July 1906) - "The Country of the BlindThe Country of the Blind"The Country of the Blind" is a short story written by H. G. Wells. It was first published in the April 1904 issue of the Strand Magazine and included in a 1911 collection of Wells's short stories, The Country of the Blind and Other Stories...
" (The StrandStrand MagazineThe Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
, April 1904) - "The Beautiful Suit" (ColliersCollier's WeeklyCollier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
, 10 April 1909)
Previous collections
Many of the above stories were previously published in the following story collections by Wells.- 1 The Stolen Bacillus and Other IncidentsThe Stolen Bacillus and Other IncidentsThe Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents is a collection of fifteen fantasy and science fiction short stories written by the English author H. G. Wells between 1893 and 1895. It was first published by Methuen & Co. in 1895 and was Wells's first book of short stories...
(1895) - 2 The Plattner Story and Others (1897)
- 3 Thirty Strange Stories (1897)
- 4 Tales of Space and TimeTales of Space and TimeTales of Space and Time is a fantasy and science fiction collection of three short stories and two novellas written by the English author H. G. Wells between 1897 and 1898. It was first published by Doubleday & McClure Co. in 1899...
(1899) - 5 Twelve Stories and a Dream (1903)
External links
- The Country of the Blind and Other Stories. Project Gutenberg.
- List of Stories by H. G. Wells. Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections.