H.G. Wells' fourth novel is a celebration of the bicycling movement of the 1890s, when safer and cheaper versions of the relatively new invention presented traveling freedom for all classes. Wells' protagonist, a young Mr. Hoopdriver, looks forward to and plans longingly for his annual ten-day vacation, in which he'll take a touring ride to the southern coast of England and back.
Hoopdriver coincidentally crosses paths along his journey with an independent young woman, Jessie, influenced by new feminist literature and determined to both break free from her tyrannical and hypocritical stepmother, and to make a profession of writing somewhere, somehow.
The odd couple eventually travel together, encountering or tangling with an uncouth seducer, a patronizing clergyman, and a coterie of enablers of Jessie's stepmother. The physical journey encompasses real historic sites throughout the region. Hoopdriver, out of his element - though surviving travails through pure bluster - can't help creating a false past for himself, a version of himself he believes will appeal the young lady above his social station.
The Wheels of Chance (1896) is considered to be a comic, satirical tale, but it's bittersweet, even sad, in its presentation of social stations difficult to break free from and in its autobiographical description of the drapery profession Wells found himself in, one that was more like indentured servitude than a job. It's debatable, in the end, whether our heroes will be able to substantially better their lives through the experience of the story and Wells determinedly gives few clues in that regard.
The Sussex Academic Press version of the novel, edited by Jeremy Withers, includes an introduction, a map of the journey, a bibliography, and is heavily annotated with editorial notes, a welcome help for understanding the references to obscure or outdated English words and phrases, obscure and forgotten authors and far-flung locales.
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