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Herbert George Well, now much more widely known simply as H.G.Wells, is one of the best writers England has ever produced. Writing on a number of subjects, Wells is now most well known for his science fiction, where he is known as one of the Fathers of Science Fiction', but his non-fiction work on science and history were also best sellers.

Wells was born on the 21st September 1866 in Bromley, Kent, and was the youngest of four children. His father, Joseph Wells, was a professional cricketer and shopkeeper, whilst his mother, Sarah Neal, was a maid. His upbringing was a poor one; the china shop his father owned was unsuccessful, whilst the wages of a cricketer were unreliable. To increase their income Sarah returned to her job as a maid, though this meant living apart from her husband and child.

Wells received a basic education at a local school, but it was through an accident that Wells developed a love of reading and writing. At the age of 7, Wells broke his leg, and whilst recuperating, he read every book that he could lay his hands on, and he was soon immersed in the writer's imagined worlds. For a few years Wells attended the Thomas Morley Commercial Academy, and though a private school, Wells often stated that the teaching was erratic at best, and focused on learning trade skills. Well's was forced to leave the school in 1880 when his father was unable to afford the school fees, a broken leg effectively ending his cricketing career.

To earn some money, Wells was forced into an apprenticeship as a draper, a cloth merchant, and whilst he disliked the work it did provide future material for his writing. Failing as a draper, he had a brief stint as a chemist, before acquiring a role as a student-teacher at Midhurst Grammar School. In 1883 Wells won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science in London, a school which eventually became the Royal College of Science. Wells studied biology and Darwinism, and soon came under the tuition of the famous T.H. Huxley. Inspired by Huxley, Wells developed a strong interest in evolution, which again came through in his later writings. The scholarship given to him, allowed him a comfortable living at the school, with no need to seek additional employment, Wells used his spare time to help found the Science School Journal' and also to join the debating society, the latter of which helped develop a socialism outlook to political views. Well's time at university though was cut short in 1887, when his scholarship was stopped

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