H.G. Wells Books in Order: A Complete Reading Guide
Updated September 2026
H.G. Wells Books in Order: The Short Answer
H.G. Wells (1866–1946) wrote about 50 novels over nearly half a century, plus dozens of short stories and a mountain of history, politics and prophecy. Most readers searching for H.G. Wells books in order want the famous science fiction, and those came in a remarkable burst at the start of his career. Here are his five best-known "scientific romances" in publication order:
- The Time Machine (1895)
- The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896)
- The Invisible Man (1897)
- The War of the Worlds (1898)
- The First Men in the Moon (1901)
Every one of Wells's novels is a standalone, so there is no required order. Start with The Time Machine or The War of the Worlds. The complete list, including the social comedies and the later "novels of ideas" that most readers never meet, is below.
In this guide:
- The Scientific Romances (1895–1901)
- The Complete List of Novels
- Short Stories and Nonfiction
- Where to Start, and What to Read Next
- Ages, Classroom Use and Content Notes
- Wells on Screen and Radio
- Used Wells Editions in Our Shop
- Frequently Asked Questions
The Scientific Romances (1895–1901)
Wells trained as a scientist. He studied biology under Thomas Henry Huxley, the grandfather of Aldous Huxley, and that grounding shows in how carefully he works out the "rules" of each impossible idea. These are the books that gave science fiction many of its basic plots.
| Year | Title | The idea |
|---|---|---|
| 1895 | The Time Machine | A Victorian inventor travels some 800,000 years ahead and finds humanity split into two species. |
| 1895 | The Wonderful Visit | An angel is accidentally shot down over an English village. Gentle social satire. |
| 1896 | The Island of Doctor Moreau | A castaway lands on an island where a scientist surgically turns animals into people. |
| 1897 | The Invisible Man | A brilliant, unpleasant chemist makes himself invisible and cannot undo it. |
| 1898 | The War of the Worlds | Martians land in Surrey and lay waste to southern England. |
| 1899 | When the Sleeper Wakes | A man sleeps for 203 years and wakes to find he owns half the world. Revised as The Sleeper Awakes (1910). |
| 1901 | The First Men in the Moon | Two Englishmen reach the Moon and find an insect-like civilization underground. |
| 1904 | The Food of the Gods | A growth formula produces giant wasps, rats and eventually giant children. |
The War of the Worlds was first serialized in Pearson's Magazine in 1897 before appearing as a book in 1898. All of these are short; The Time Machine can be read in an afternoon.
The Complete List of Novels
After 1901 Wells turned more and more to realistic comedy and then to novels built around arguments about how society should be run. Counts vary because some titles are really novellas or dialogues, but this is the full run of his novels in publication order.
1895–1909
The Time Machine (1895), The Wonderful Visit (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Wheels of Chance (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), The War of the Worlds (1898), When the Sleeper Wakes (1899), Love and Mr Lewisham (1900), The First Men in the Moon (1901), The Sea Lady (1902), The Food of the Gods (1904), Kipps (1905), A Modern Utopia (1905), In the Days of the Comet (1906), The War in the Air (1908), Tono-Bungay (1909), Ann Veronica (1909).
1910–1919
The History of Mr Polly (1910), The New Machiavelli (1911), Marriage (1912), The Passionate Friends (1913), The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman (1914), The World Set Free (1914), Bealby (1915), Boon (1915, published under the name Reginald Bliss), The Research Magnificent (1915), Mr Britling Sees It Through (1916), The Soul of a Bishop (1917), Joan and Peter (1918), The Undying Fire (1919).
1920–1941
The Secret Places of the Heart (1922), Men Like Gods (1923), The Dream (1924), Christina Alberta's Father (1925), The World of William Clissold (1926), Meanwhile (1927), Mr Blettsworthy on Rampole Island (1928), The Autocracy of Mr Parham (1930), The Bulpington of Blup (1932), The Shape of Things to Come (1933), The Croquet Player (1936), Brynhild (1937), Star Begotten (1937), The Camford Visitation (1937), The Brothers (1938), Apropos of Dolores (1938), The Holy Terror (1939), All Aboard for Ararat (1940), Babes in the Darkling Wood (1940), You Can't Be Too Careful (1941).
Worth seeking out from the later books
- Kipps and The History of Mr Polly — warm, funny novels about shop assistants trying to get on in life. Wells had been a draper's apprentice himself, and these are the books many Wells fans love most.
- Tono-Bungay — his most admired realistic novel, about a patent-medicine fortune.
- The World Set Free — notable for describing "atomic bombs" in 1914, three decades before they existed. The physicist Leó Szilárd later said the book made a great impression on him.
- Mr Britling Sees It Through — a moving First World War home-front novel that was hugely popular when it appeared.
- The Shape of Things to Come — a "future history" that Wells adapted himself into the 1936 film Things to Come.
Short Stories and Nonfiction
Story collections
Wells was a superb short story writer, and many of his science fiction ideas appear here first. The main collections are The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents (1895), The Plattner Story and Others (1897), Thirty Strange Stories (1897), Tales of Space and Time (1899), Twelve Stories and a Dream (1903), The Country of the Blind and Other Stories (1911) and The Short Stories of H.G. Wells (1927). "The Country of the Blind," "The Door in the Wall," "The Star" and "The Crystal Egg" are the ones to look for. A complete or selected stories volume is the easiest way to get them all.
Nonfiction
- Anticipations (1901), his first book of serious prediction
- Floor Games (1911) and Little Wars (1913), about playing with toy soldiers on the nursery floor. Little Wars is often called the first set of rules for recreational wargaming.
- The Outline of History (1920), a huge bestseller that made him rich
- A Short History of the World (1922), a one-volume version still handy for older homeschool students alongside the picks in our best history books for homeschool
- Experiment in Autobiography (1934)
Where to Start, and What to Read Next
Our suggested order for a new reader:
- The Time Machine — short, strange and the clearest view of Wells's worry about where society was heading.
- The War of the Worlds — the most exciting of the five, and the model for every alien invasion story since.
- The Invisible Man — darkly comic before it turns violent.
- The First Men in the Moon — a good read-aloud for families who liked Jules Verne.
- The Island of Doctor Moreau — the most disturbing; save it for older readers.
After that, try Kipps or The History of Mr Polly to see a completely different side of him, or a short story collection. The later idea-driven novels are mainly for readers who have become Wells enthusiasts. Readers drawn to the grim future of The Time Machine often move on to Brave New World; our Aldous Huxley books in order guide covers it.
Ages, Classroom Use and Content Notes
The scientific romances are clean by modern standards: no bad language and nothing sexual on the page. The challenge for younger readers is Victorian prose and some fairly frightening scenes.
- The Time Machine works from about 12. The Morlocks, who feed on the gentle Eloi, are creepy rather than gory.
- The War of the Worlds suits ages 12 and up. There's mass death, burning, and a disturbing passage about how the Martians feed.
- The Invisible Man is fine from about 12. Griffin grows increasingly cruel and violent, and the ending is grim.
- The Island of Doctor Moreau is the one to be careful with. It centers on vivisection, with pain and animal suffering described plainly. We'd suggest 14 and up.
- Ann Veronica caused a scandal in 1909 for its independent heroine and frank treatment of sex. Several of the later novels reflect Wells's own unconventional views on marriage and religion, which some families will want to discuss.
For homeschool science fiction units, Wells pairs naturally with Jules Verne: Verne's inventions are about engineering, while Wells uses his to ask what science will do to people. Our Jules Verne books in order guide suggests which Verne to start with, and our best science fiction books for teens carries the unit forward to modern writers.
Wells on Screen and Radio
- The Invisible Man (1933), Universal's classic with Claude Rains.
- Things to Come (1936), written by Wells himself.
- The War of the Worlds: Orson Welles's 1938 radio broadcast, which famously alarmed some listeners; George Pal's 1953 film; Steven Spielberg's 2005 film with Tom Cruise; and a 2025 film starring Ice Cube. Jeff Wayne's 1978 musical album is a favorite of its own.
- The Time Machine: George Pal's 1960 film is the family-friendly choice; the 2002 remake is darker.
- The Island of Doctor Moreau was first filmed as Island of Lost Souls (1932) and has been remade more than once, none of them suitable for children.
The 1938 broadcast makes a great companion listen for students reading The War of the Worlds. It moves the invasion to New Jersey but keeps Wells's structure. For more classic science fiction on disc, see our best space adventure movies on DVD.
Used Wells Editions in Our Shop
Omnibus volumes that bind The Time Machine, The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds together turn up often and are the best value; also check The First Men in the Moon and Kipps. Browse our science fiction and classic literature collections for more. Every order over $15 ships free.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many books did H.G. Wells write?
About 50 novels, depending on how you count novellas and dialogues, along with many short story collections and dozens of nonfiction books on history, politics and the future.
What order should I read H.G. Wells in?
His novels are all standalones, so any order works. We suggest The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, The First Men in the Moon and then The Island of Doctor Moreau.
What was H.G. Wells's first novel?
The Time Machine, published in 1895. It began a run of science fiction classics that lasted until about 1901.
What was H.G. Wells's last novel?
You Can't Be Too Careful, published in 1941. He died in London in 1946.
Is H.G. Wells appropriate for middle schoolers?
The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man work well from about 12. The Island of Doctor Moreau is more disturbing and better suited to readers 14 and up.
Is H.G. Wells the father of science fiction?
He's often called that, along with Jules Verne and Hugo Gernsback. Wells's early novels invented or popularized time travel, alien invasion and invisibility as story ideas.
Did H.G. Wells predict the atomic bomb?
In a sense. His 1914 novel The World Set Free describes "atomic bombs," and the physicist Leó Szilárd later said the book made a great impression on him.
