When the Sleeper Wakes

Wells, H. G. (Herbert George), 1866-1946Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.9

Word count: 472K words
Chapters: 48

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.When the Sleeper Wakes by H. G. WellsAuthor: Wells, H. G. (Herbert George), 1866-1946,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jan 1, 1997

Editor's review

When the Sleeper Wakes is one of H. G. Wells's early science fiction novels. It tells of a protagonist who wakes to find himself in a distant future dystopian world, using this premise to explore technological rule, social stratification, and individual freedom. As a public-domain eBook, this Project Gutenberg edition has a clear textual source and is suited to readers approaching Wells's tradition of socially critical science fiction through the English original. Wells's narrative often interweaves adventure with social observation; readers can follow the protagonist's struggles in an unfamiliar world while noting the author's depiction of cities, labor, and power structures. The book serves as an introductory sample of British science fiction from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, and also invites comparison with works such as The Time Machine to observe how Wells uses "the future" as a mirror for reflecting on the present. One caveat: written in the late Victorian period, the book carries period traces in some social attitudes and narrative pacing; readers should understand it from the perspective of literary and intellectual history rather than expect the tight plotting of contemporary science fiction.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English-language readers who enjoy early science fiction and dystopian themes
Literature enthusiasts interested in Wells's socially critical ideas
Learners who need a public-domain English text for reading practice
Researchers interested in late-nineteenth-century visions of the future

Not a good fit for

General readers expecting fast-paced contemporary science fiction
Those with weak English reading skills who need Chinese annotations
Beginners who only want Wells's most famous works

Reading tips

Read the opening and the protagonist's awakening chapters first, grasp the setting, then move into the middle sections of social description.
Take notes on Wells's depictions of technology and class as you read, and review them afterward to form an overall judgment.
Read alongside The Time Machine and compare how the two works treat future society differently.
The English original is long; read it in chapter batches rather than all at once to avoid fatigue.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English?

This is a public-domain English eBook released by Project Gutenberg, with the main text in the English original and no Chinese translation or annotations. Chinese readers need some English reading ability or should use a dictionary and辅助 tools.

Can I read this without having read other Wells works?

Yes. This is a standalone story that does not depend on prior works. However, Wells's socially critical science fiction shares common concerns; understanding his general intellectual orientation will make the future-society setting easier to grasp.

Is this suitable as an introduction to science fiction?

It can serve as an introductory sample of early science fiction, but it is closer to social-allegory science fiction, with pacing different from contemporary genre novels. To build interest first, start with shorter, more plot-focused Wells works, then return to this book.

What background knowledge is helpful for reading?

It helps to know the general context of late-nineteenth-century British industrialization, urban expansion, and social stratification, as these are the real-world basis for Wells's imagined future. Also note that this is a public-domain electronic text, freely accessible, but the edition itself contains no modern scholarly annotations.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Wells, H. G. (Herbert George), 1866-1946 Author

H. G. Wells (Herbert George, 1866–1946) was a renowned British author best known for his science fiction and socially engaged works. The collection holds 76 of his works, including The Invisible Man, The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Red Room, and The Door in the Wall, and Other Stories, as well as the historical survey The Outline of History. His science fiction often starts from scientific premises and explores technological loss of control, human weakness, and social crisis, with bold imagination and clear narration; The Outline of History reflects his approachable, well-structured writing for general readers. Public information is limited, so biographical details are not elaborated here, but his works show a mastery of novels, short stories, and popular history, and his influence on later science fiction is profound.