Christina Alberta's Father

By H.G. Wells

Book Overview

In the months following his wife's death, Mr. Preemby, a retired laundryman, becomes convinced that he is the incarnation of Sargon, the ancient king of Sumeria, returned to save a world upturned by World War I. Trying to make sense of Mr. Preemby is his stepdaughter, Christina Alberta. A masterclass in comic invention, Christina Alberta's Father depicts characters who long for something to believe in, just so long as it is not "some horrible Utopia by Wells," but whose attempts to change the world are always doomed to disappointment. Whether taken as a social satire, a psychological study or a critique of Wells's own beliefs and relationships, this book makes for a fascinating and delightful read.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0720619394
• ISBN13: 9780720619393
• Release Date: November 2017
• Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers
• Length: 420 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Touching, Emotion-stirring Novel

I'm probably the only person under 30 whose read as much of the non-science fiction novels of H.G. Wells as anyone since the 1920s. [After all, he was considered a titan by such authors as Somerset-Maugham, Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald--and not for his early sci-fi stuff. But for his commanding literary novels. This is largely forgotten today in the amnesia brought about by hack literature professors or lacking Fiction courses.] Nevertheless, anyone who stumbles upon his literary works realizes what a disservice is done him by the unthinking who have unfairly marginalized him and relegated him to sci-fi purgatory. Among his best literary novels [and ones that actually were best-sellers at the time] are "Ann Veronica," "The Passionate Friends," "Love and Mr. Lewisham" and "Tono Bungay". As for myself, I am becoming quite a connoisseur of Wells' work. As such, I was curious to see what he was doing in his later years. "Christina Alberta's Father" was written in the exhaustion following his famous non-fiction work "Brief Outline of History". It was a major international bestseller. So "Christina Alberta" was a quiet return to novels. At first I was leery. [After all, it's about a girl whose father starts to wonder if he's not the reincarnation of Sumerian king, Sargon the Great.] It seemed too comic, too flippant, too . . . in a word: humorous. But I kept reading. By the end of the novel--such was its depth and range of emotion--that I found myself weeping. [I won't spoil the end for you--even though I *will* confide that it's sad.] Suffice it to say: It was so human, so touching, so well-crafted that I came away from it feeling enriched that I'd been brought so close to these characters. Novels aren't written like this anymore: So complex and filled with a range of complicated emotions.