Ann Veronica Annotated

By: Wells, H. G.

Ann Veronica describes the rebellion of Ann Veronica Stanley against her middle-class father's stern patriarchal rule. The novel created a sensation when published in the fall of 1909 because of the feminist sensibilities of the heroine and also because of the affair Wells was having with Amber Reeves, the woman who inspired the novel's eponymous character. Although the novel now seems very tame, Ann Veronica was considered a scandalous work by many in its day and was denounced as "capable of poisoning the minds of those who read it" by The Spectator.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B08JVLC1SZ
• ISBN13: 9798690230630
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 408 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

"Why can't they be like we were perfect in every way?"

"What's the matter with kids today?" Lyrics from "Bye Bye Birdie" Ann Veronica "Vee" asks the question, "Why can't a woman be like a man," and sets out to find out why. She discovers all sorts of men, some stuffy and some devious. She may one day stumble over the perfect man; she will never find me. She tries to be independent and is thwarted at every turn; that is, until she realizes there are better things to do than just compete. We get to grow with Vee and go through several long dissertations, Ayn Rand style, over political freedom, love, equality, and whatnot. All the talk loses its way and, with dumb luck, returns to the story. We are treated to a travelogue and scratch ourselves with a long talk about the prison dinghies. Just as it starts to get interesting, the story stops dead in the middle of a thought. The story is ok, and some of the subjects brought up are still relevant today. However, if you look a little closer at the story, as with much fiction is just a venue to express H.G.’s concept of free love. The illustrated versions do not illustrate anything interesting. The annotated version may reflect the annotator’s thoughts.