Ann Veronica [Hardcover]

H. G. Wells (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

"The art of ignoring is one of the accomplishments of every well-bred girl, so carefully instilled that at last she can even ignore her own thoughts and her own knowledge."One Wednesday afternoon in late September, Ann Veronica Stanley came down from London in a state of solemn excitement and quite resolved to have things out with her father that very evening. She had trembled on the verge of such a resolution before, but this time quite definitely she made it. A crisis had been reached, and she was almost glad it had been reached. She made up her mind in the train home that it should be a decisive crisis. It is for that reason that this novel begins with her there, and neither earlier nor later, for it is the history of this crisis and its consequences that this novel has to tell.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

H.G. Wells was a professional writer and journalist, who published more than a hundred books, including novels, histories, essays and programmes for world regeneration. Wells's prophetic imagination was first displayed in pioneering works of science fiction, but later he became an apostle of socialism, science and progress. His controversial views on sexual equality and the shape of a truly developed nation remain directly relevant to our world today. He was, in Bertrand Russell's words, 'an important liberator of thought and action'. Margaret Drabble is the author of fiction and non-ficton and she has edited the Oxford Companion to English Literature. She is a CBE and a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Sita A. Schutt was until recently Assystant Professor in the English Language and Literature at Bilkent University, Ankara.She has published articles on French and English detective fiction and Ford Madox Ford. She is currently writing a novel. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 316 pages
• Publisher: Wildside Press (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809596660
• ISBN-13: 978-0809596669
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,763,473 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great novel, May 8, 2006

By 

Polymath (Ithaca NY USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Ann Veronica (Penguin Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm not much of a novel reader, especially of realistic fiction. But I wanted to read this one, just to see how HG Wells handled such a novel. I was also intrigued with the themes I'd read were involved.

I immediately felt at home in the milieu of the novel. And though male myself, I completely identified with the young female protagonist, a college student in biology who leaves home to strike out on her own. In the process, she finds out about the ups and downs of "real life". The story is told almost exclusively from her point of view. Of course, the setting is now 100 years ago, but there was almost nothing in the novel that truly dated it. All the characters had motivations and acted in ways that seem completely contemporary today. I became completely enthralled with Ann Veronica's life and adventures, even staying up late to finish the book. She became a real person to me.

In terms of this edition of the book, not only are there end notes explaining allusions and other points, but also there is a very useful glossary included which defines unusual words. Of course, there is also a helpful introduction by a contemporaty critic, as well as a preface Wells wrote to an edition of the book published in the 1920s.

I can easily see this novel being adapted for Masterpiece Theatre. With enough publicity, I think it could become a top seller again today. It is definitely a story for the ages.

3.0 out of 5 stars "Why can't they be like we were perfect in every way?", September 14, 2009

By 

bernie "webviator" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ann Veronica (Kindle Edition)

"What's the matter with kids today?"

Ann Veronica "Vee" asks the question "why can't a woman be like a man" and sets out to find out why. She discovers all sorts of men, some stuffy and some devious. She may one day stumble over the perfect man. She tries to be independent and is thwarted at every turn; that is until she realizes there are better things to do than just compete.

We get to grow with Vee and go through several long dissertations, Ayn Rand style, over politics freedom, love, equality, and whatnot. All the talk loses its way and with dumb luck returns to the story. We are treated to a travelogue and scratch ourselves with a long talk about the prison dingies. Just as it, starts to get interest the story stops dead in the middle of a thought.

The story is ok and some of the subjects brought up are still relevant today. However, if you look a little closer the story as with much fiction is just a venue to express H.G's concepts of free love.

3.0 out of 5 stars "Why can't they be like we were perfect in every way?", May 16, 2009

By 

bernie "webviator" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ann Veronica (Paperback)

"What's the matter with kids today?"

Ann Veronica "Vee" asks the question "why can't a woman be like a man" and sets out to find out why. She discovers all sorts of men, some stuffy and some devious. She may one day stumble over the perfect man. She tries to be independent and is thwarted at every turn; that is until she realizes there are better things to do than just compete.

We get to grow with Vee and go through several long dissertations, Ayn Rand style, over politics freedom, love, equality, and whatnot. All the talk loses its way and with dumb luck returns to the story. We are treated to a travelogue and scratch ourselves with a long talk about the prison dingies. Just as it, starts to get interest the story stops dead in the middle of a thought.

The story is ok and some of the subjects brought up are still relevant today. However, if you look a little closer the story as with much fiction is just a venue to express H.G's concepts of free love.