Editing H. G. Wells (section)

===Teacher===
[[File:HG Wells 20181021 120408.jpg|thumb|240px|Commemorative plaque in [[Midhurst]], West Sussex, marking where Wells lodged while a teacher at [[Midhurst Grammar School]] between 1883 and 1884]]
In October 1879, Wells's mother arranged through a distant relative, Arthur Williams, for him to join the [[National school (England and Wales)|National School]] at [[Wookey]] in Somerset as a pupil–teacher, a senior pupil who acted as a teacher of younger children.<ref name="GHW1925">{{cite book |last=Wells |first=Geoffrey Henry |title=The Works of H.{{nbsp}}G. Wells |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=[[London]] |date=1925 |page=xvi |oclc=458934085 }}</ref> In December that year, however, Williams was dismissed for irregularities in his qualifications and Wells was returned to Uppark. After a short apprenticeship at a chemist in nearby [[Midhurst]] and an even shorter stay as a boarder at [[Midhurst Grammar School]], he signed his apprenticeship papers at Hyde's. In 1883, Wells persuaded his parents to release him from the apprenticeship, taking an opportunity offered by Midhurst Grammar School again to become a pupil–teacher; his proficiency in Latin and science during his earlier short stay had been remembered.<ref name=Smith/><ref name="GHW1925"/>

The years he spent in Southsea had been the most miserable of his life to that point, but his good fortune in securing a position at Midhurst Grammar School meant that Wells could continue his self-education in earnest.<ref name=Smith/> The following year, Wells won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science (later the [[Royal College of Science]] in [[South Kensington]], which became part of [[Imperial College London]]) in London, studying [[biology]] under [[Thomas Henry Huxley]].{{r|batchelor|p=164}} As an alumnus, he later helped to set up the Royal College of Science Association, of which he became the first president in 1909. Wells studied in his new school until 1887, with a weekly allowance of 21 [[shilling]]s (a [[guinea (British coin)|guinea]]) thanks to his scholarship. This ought to have been a comfortable sum of money (at the time many [[working class]] families had "round about a pound a week" as their entire household income),<ref>Reeves, M. S. ''Round About a Pound a Week''. New York: Garland Pub., 1980. {{ISBN|0-8240-0119-2}}. Some of the text is available online.</ref> yet in his ''Experiment in Autobiography'' Wells speaks of constantly being hungry, and indeed photographs of him at the time show a youth who is very thin and malnourished.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brome|first1=Vincent|title=H.{{nbsp}}G. Wells|date=2008|publisher=House of Stratus|page=180}}</ref>

He soon entered the debating society of the school. These years mark the beginning of his interest in a possible reformation of society. At first approaching the subject through Plato's ''Republic'', he soon turned to contemporary ideas of socialism as expressed by the recently formed [[Fabian Society]] and free lectures delivered at [[Kelmscott House]], the home of [[William Morris]]. He was also among the founders of ''The Science School Journal'', a school magazine that allowed him to express his views on literature and society, as well as trying his hand at fiction; a precursor to his novel ''[[The Time Machine]]'' was published in the journal under the title "[[The Chronic Argonauts]]". The school year 1886–87 was the last year of his studies.{{r|batchelor|p=164}}

[[File:H. G. Wells, c.1890.jpg|thumb|left|Wells studying in London {{Circa}} 1890]]
During 1888, Wells stayed in [[Stoke-on-Trent]], living in [[Basford, Staffordshire|Basford]]. The unique environment of [[The Potteries]] was certainly an inspiration. He wrote in a letter to a friend from the area that "the district made an immense impression on me". The inspiration for some of his descriptions in ''The War of the Worlds'' is thought to have come from his short time spent here, seeing the iron foundry furnaces burn over the city, shooting huge red light into the skies. His stay in The Potteries also resulted in the macabre short story "[[The Cone]]" (1895, contemporaneous with his famous ''The Time Machine''), set in the north of the city.{{r|hammond|p=90}}

After teaching for some time—he was briefly on the staff of [[Holt, Wrexham County Borough|Holt]] Academy in Wales<ref>{{cite news|date=3 October 2016|title=Teaching spell near Wrexham inspired one of the nation's greatest science fiction writers|first=Jamie|last=Bowman|work=[[The Leader (Welsh newspaper)|The Leader]]|location=Wrexham|access-date=13 May 2018|url=http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/15956789.Teaching_spell_near_Wrexham_inspired_one_of_the_nation_s_greatest_science_fiction_writers/}}</ref>—Wells found it necessary to supplement his knowledge relating to educational principles and methodology and entered the College of Preceptors ([[College of Teachers]]). He later received his Licentiate and Fellowship [[College of Teachers|FCP]] diplomas from the college. It was not until 1890 that Wells earned a Bachelor of Science degree in [[zoology]] from the [[University of London External System|University of London External Programme]]. In 1889–90, he managed to find a post as a teacher at Henley House School in London, where he taught [[A. A. Milne]] (whose father ran the school).<ref>{{cite journal |url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22657 |date=1989 |title=Hampstead: Education |journal=A History of the County of Middlesex |volume=9 |pages=159–169 |access-date=2008-06-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/aamilne.htm|title=A. A. Milne|website=Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi)|first=Petri|last=Liukkonen|publisher=[[Kuusankoski]] Public Library|location=Finland|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222205524/http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/aamilne.htm|archive-date=22 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> His first published work was a ''Text-Book of Biology'' in two volumes (1893).<ref>{{cite book|title=H.{{nbsp}}G. Wells Under Revision: Proceedings of the International H.{{nbsp}}G. Wells Symposium, London, July 1986|url=https://archive.org/details/hgwellsunderrevi00inte/page/123|url-access=registration|date=1990|publisher=Associated University Presse|page=123]|isbn=9780945636052}}</ref>

Upon leaving the [[Royal College of Science|Normal School of Science]], Wells was left without a source of income. His aunt Mary—his father's sister-in-law—invited him to stay with her for a while, which solved his immediate problem of accommodation. During his stay at his aunt's, he grew increasingly interested in her daughter, Isabel, whom he later courted and married. To earn money, he began writing short humorous articles for journals such as ''[[The Pall Mall Gazette]]'', later collecting these in ''[[Select Conversations with an Uncle]]'' (1895) and ''[[Certain Personal Matters]]'' (1897). So prolific did Wells become at this mode of journalism that many of his early pieces remain unidentified. According to David C. Smith, <blockquote>Most of Wells's occasional pieces have not been collected, and many have not even been identified as his. Wells did not automatically receive the byline his reputation demanded until after 1896 or so&nbsp;. ... As a result, many of his early pieces are unknown. It is obvious that many early Wells items have been lost.<ref>{{cite book |first=David C. |last=Smith |author-link=David C. Smith (historian) |title=H.{{nbsp}}G. Wells: Desperately Mortal: A Biography |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |date=1986 |isbn=978-0-300-03672-5 |location=[[New Haven]] |page=35}}</ref></blockquote> His success with these shorter pieces encouraged him to write book-length work, and he published his first novel, ''[[The Time Machine]]'', in 1895.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hammond|first=John R. |date=2004 |title=H.{{nbsp}}G. Wells's ''The Time Machine'': A Reference Guide |location=[[Westport, Conn.]] |publisher=[[Praeger Publishers|Praeger]] |page=50}}</ref>