The First Men in the Moon (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: H. G. Wells
- First Published: 1901
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Science fiction—cosmic voyage
- Time of Work: The early twentieth century
- Setting: Lympne, a village in Kent, England; and the Moon
- Genres: Long fiction, Science fiction
- Subjects: Twentieth century, Space flight or travel, Villages, England or English people, Moon or moons
- Locales: Moon, Kent, England
The Plot
The story has two principal characters: Bedford, a bankrupt fortune hunter, and Cavor, an impractical scientist. They are neighbors in the village of Lympne. Throughout the novel, these two figures are contrasted and compared as the author makes satirical observations about humanity in general and utopian ideas in particular.
Cavor has invented a substance called Cavorite that neutralizes the effects of gravity. Bedford’s entrepreneurial greed senses an opportunity to make money. Before long, the pair are on their way to the Moon in a Cavorite sphere. The...
[The entire page is 989 words long]
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