Throughout human history writers have exercised considerable influence over the thinking and the course of development of the societies they have lived in. The really great writers’ influence endures long after they are dead and gone, and even if we do not take as a given this fact.
Science fiction and mystery have always been considered by high-brow literary critics to be genres for the masses, but even they cannot deny that some of the forefathers of the modern-day form of sci-fi and detective fiction are actually authors of considerable influence. We are talking about H.G. Wells and non-other but Arthur Conan Doyle of course. Those two names are well known all over the world, even though they lived and worked over a century ago. There should be something to all the fuss, right?
Herbert George Wells was born in Bromley, then part of the county of Kent in 1866. For quite a long time, his mother worked as a maid in a country house in Essex. Now, this fact comes to show that Wells was just a poor boy from a poor family, but it also is vital to the way he grown up to be. His formative years were marked by his life in Uppark, in the said country house, which among other things had a really rich library – actually that was a golden opportunity for the young Herbert, who read Plato, Thomas More and many other classical authors for the first time there.
In early adulthood Wells worked for a brief time as a teacher, but soon he managed to win a scholarship to study biology at the Normal School of Science in Kensington, which was later to become Imperial College London. It was his interest in science that actually made Wells the kind of author he was destined to become.
Science fiction and mystery have always been considered by high-brow literary critics to be genres for the masses, but even they cannot deny that some of the forefathers of the modern-day form of sci-fi and detective fiction are actually authors of considerable influence. We are talking about H.G. Wells and non-other but Arthur Conan Doyle of course. Those two names are well known all over the world, even though they lived and worked over a century ago. There should be something to all the fuss, right?
Herbert George Wells was born in Bromley, then part of the county of Kent in 1866. For quite a long time, his mother worked as a maid in a country house in Essex. Now, this fact comes to show that Wells was just a poor boy from a poor family, but it also is vital to the way he grown up to be. His formative years were marked by his life in Uppark, in the said country house, which among other things had a really rich library – actually that was a golden opportunity for the young Herbert, who read Plato, Thomas More and many other classical authors for the first time there.
In early adulthood Wells worked for a brief time as a teacher, but soon he managed to win a scholarship to study biology at the Normal School of Science in Kensington, which was later to become Imperial College London. It was his interest in science that actually made Wells the kind of author he was destined to become.
It was during his time at the college that Wells got interested in writing science fiction. During his career he authored many realistic novels and short stories, wrote on the topics of history, philosophy and politics and he was critically praised for his efforts, but it is the science romances, as they were called at that time, which brought fame over for H.G. Wells, made his a household name in Late Victorian society and are the reason for his lasting influence. A quick glance at the titles explains why this is so better than any article:
· The Time Machine
· The Island of Doctor Moreau
· The Invisible Man,
· The War of the Worlds,
· When the Sleeper Wakes
· The First Men in the Moon.
Themes like time travel, vivisection, invisibility, alien invasion and travels in outer space are now part of the western pop culture canon – some of them, especially the man on the Moon trope, has actually become a reality. The reason for such a phenomena is the writing output of Herbert Wells, and no one can deny this fact. He is one of those people who literally changed the world through literature, which became a reason to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1921, 1932, 1935, and 1946. The array of writers who claim influence from Wells include Isaac Asimov, Arthur Clarke, Frank Herbert, Karel Chapek and many others.
The story of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is quite similar to that of Wells. There is no need to go into detail about him, is it? You will find it hard to come across a person who has not heard of Doyle’s most famous literary creation, the genius detective Sherlock Holmes – even if the person in question has never read a Holmes’s story, the very name has become a cultural phenomenon like Coca-Cola or Microsoft. Everyone knows about him.
Like his fellow Victorian writer Herbert George Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle was a scientist by training and profession before he got into writing full time. He was a medical doctor, who studied at Edinburgh and in Vienna. He had a pretty good run as a doctor and if it was not for the inept need of the writer to writer, he could have lived pretty decent life thanks to his practice. But then came 1886, and the first Holmes story saw the light of day. A Study in Scarlet was an immediate best-seller and actually decided the fate of its author. It is a well known story how one day Doyle grew so frustrated by the immense popularity of his character that he actually tried to kill him off. The fans were so devastated that mass protests ensued and Holmes was brought back to life and stories about his cases were written by Doyle until the author’s death – and continue to be penned by a variety of authors well into this day.
· The Time Machine
· The Island of Doctor Moreau
· The Invisible Man,
· The War of the Worlds,
· When the Sleeper Wakes
· The First Men in the Moon.
Themes like time travel, vivisection, invisibility, alien invasion and travels in outer space are now part of the western pop culture canon – some of them, especially the man on the Moon trope, has actually become a reality. The reason for such a phenomena is the writing output of Herbert Wells, and no one can deny this fact. He is one of those people who literally changed the world through literature, which became a reason to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1921, 1932, 1935, and 1946. The array of writers who claim influence from Wells include Isaac Asimov, Arthur Clarke, Frank Herbert, Karel Chapek and many others.
The story of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is quite similar to that of Wells. There is no need to go into detail about him, is it? You will find it hard to come across a person who has not heard of Doyle’s most famous literary creation, the genius detective Sherlock Holmes – even if the person in question has never read a Holmes’s story, the very name has become a cultural phenomenon like Coca-Cola or Microsoft. Everyone knows about him.
Like his fellow Victorian writer Herbert George Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle was a scientist by training and profession before he got into writing full time. He was a medical doctor, who studied at Edinburgh and in Vienna. He had a pretty good run as a doctor and if it was not for the inept need of the writer to writer, he could have lived pretty decent life thanks to his practice. But then came 1886, and the first Holmes story saw the light of day. A Study in Scarlet was an immediate best-seller and actually decided the fate of its author. It is a well known story how one day Doyle grew so frustrated by the immense popularity of his character that he actually tried to kill him off. The fans were so devastated that mass protests ensued and Holmes was brought back to life and stories about his cases were written by Doyle until the author’s death – and continue to be penned by a variety of authors well into this day.
But there is much more to Arthur Conan Doyle than his work in detective fiction. It seems so that great Victorian writers, much like great men throughout all stages of history, shared the quality of intense curiosity. They are the embodiment of the term a Renaissance man. Doyle wrote adventure and science fiction stories, including the predecessor of Jurassic World – The Lost World, a novel featuring his second best known character – professor Challenger. Challenger was actually much closer to the author than Holmes ever was. Much like the naturalists and adventurer, Doyle was a man of action, a true gentleman who at times played a bit rougher and had a deep interest in history, natural history and the origin of man. Actually, it is said that he was one of the most avid participants spiritual and free-masonry circles at his time, and is even responsible for a number of science hoaxes.
In both cases we are talking about men who were ahead of their time. People who were able to captivate the imagination of their contemporaries and create worlds that inspire, influence and even potentially change the way we are thinking about the world. Do we have such people nowadays? Quite possibly. The trick is that the only sure proof of their existence will come if their names go down in history and continue to be remembered centuries after.
In both cases we are talking about men who were ahead of their time. People who were able to captivate the imagination of their contemporaries and create worlds that inspire, influence and even potentially change the way we are thinking about the world. Do we have such people nowadays? Quite possibly. The trick is that the only sure proof of their existence will come if their names go down in history and continue to be remembered centuries after.