MR Britling Sees It Through

By H.G. Wells

Book Overview

The Casemate Classic War Fiction Series publishers new editions of forgotten classics that perfectly capture their era.

A profound and very human account of the early years of the war, told from the perspective of a father rather than combatants, but no less revealing.

Mr Britling lives in the quintessentially English town of Matching's Easy in Essex. He is a great thinker, an essayist, but most of all an optimist. When war arrives he is forced to reassess many of the things he had been so sure of. The war brings great change - Belgian refugees come with dreadful stories and everywhere it seems there are young men dressed in khaki. The family's young German tutor is forced to head back to Germany, and Mr Britling's seventeen year old son enlists in the Territorials. Day by day and month by month, Wells chronicles the unfolding events and public reaction as witnessed by the inhabitants of one house in rural Essex. Each of the characters tries in a different way to keep their bearings in a world suddenly changed beyond recognition. Tragedy ensues, Mr Britling must wrestle with outrage, grief and attempts at rationalisation as he 'sees it through'.

Written in 1916, while the outcome of the war was still uncertain, this is both a fascinating portrait of Britain at war, and a chronicle of events seen from a contemporary perspective, and an insight into H G Wells himself, Mr Britling being a largely autobiographical character.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1612004156
• ISBN13: 9781612004150
• Release Date: September 2016
• Publisher: Casemate
• Length: 444 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.2" x 7.4"

Customer Reviews

Wells was a wonderful writer and very talented at telling a great story...

I'm a huge H.G Wells fan. On this one he steps outside the science fiction genre and gives us a compelling look into the mind of a man as he and his nation are pulled into war. It's actually very similar to the process I've seen the American psyche going through since 9-11, previously opposed to war, then whole-heartedly engaged, then questioning it. I think this book would be a good choice for history buffs, since it does such an excellent job of showing us how things were during World War I and what the mood was like during that time. Wells himself followed a similar course to his character. His leaned philosophically in the direction of pacifism, but when the First World War began he supported it at first, then after a while he gravitated back to his more pacifistic views. This is an excellent book and I really enjoyed reading. Wells was a wonderful writer and very talented at telling a great story. I highly recommend this book.

Brilliant and sometimes hilarious!

I got this book as a gift from my brother. I have always loved H.G. Wells' books, and though this one is not in the same genre that I'm used to, I really loved it. It's sad and brilliant and sometimes hilarious. The message is deep and timely. Even though it's about a different war, the sentiment is still the same. What war does to the psyches of individuals and nations does not change. It unites us for a time only to eventually leave us feeling dirty. H.G. Wells shows us this process works in this excellent book. I really enjoyed reading it, and I would recommend it to anyone.