When the Sleeper Wakes (Everyman Paperback) [Paperback]

H. G. Wells (Author)

Book Description

Series: Everyman Paperback | Publication Date: January 15, 1995

Part of the "Everyman" series which has been re-set with wide margins and easy-to-read type, this book includes an introduction and comprehensive notes. This title is by H.G. Wells.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''Nothing is more striking about Mr. Wells . . . than his power of lending freshness and vitality to some well-worn formula of fiction.'' --The Spectator --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

From the Publisher

Founded in 1906 by J.M. Dent, the Everyman Library has always tried to make the best books ever written available to the greatest number of people at the lowest possible price. Unique editorial features that help Everyman Paperback Classics stand out from the crowd include: a leading scholar or literary critic's introduction to the text, a biography of the author, a chronology of her or his life and times, a historical selection of criticism, and a concise plot summary. All books published since 1993 have also been completely restyled: all type has been reset, to offer a clarity and ease of reading unique among editions of the classics; a vibrant, full-color cover design now complements these great texts with beautiful contemporary works of art. But the best feature must be Everyman's uniquely low price. Each Everyman title offers these extensive materials at a price that competes with the most inexpensive editions on the market-but Everyman Paperbacks have durable binding, quality paper, and the highest editorial and scholarly standards.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Everyman Paperbacks (January 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0460874993
• ISBN-13: 978-0460874991
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,602,783 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular Prophetic Work, February 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: When the Sleeper Wakes (Everyman Paperback) (Paperback)

H.G. Wells is perhaps one of the greatest modern writers, and his stunning book "When The Sleeper Wakes" is the embodiment of his incredible prohpetic writing. This is an essential book, if for no other reason than it's frighteningly close-to-home predictions of the future. The story follows a modern day Rumplestiltskin, named Graham, after he sleeps a couple of centuries and wakes up to find himself owner of over half of the earth. The story itself is well-crafted, as Wells demonstrates a strong command of the English language. But this book is not merely a "good read". The most amazing aspect is that H.G. Wells predicted the widespread use of airtravel over a hundred years ago, along with mega-corporations that dominate a single industry, and roadside billboard advertisements. These are just a few of the remarkable, and accurate, predictions H.G. Wells made. It's hard to believe this book was written in the 1890's. The story is engaging as well, even if your not concerned with the social and political warnings of this tale. Only a few of the characters are extensively, namely Ostrog and Graham. But since it's a short story, this doesn't detract from the overall plot. The setting and tone of the story are the most important elements, and these are expertly developed. There is little wrong with this book. It's a little on the short side, but it still makes for an excellent choice.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A genious book from a genious writer, February 14, 2004

By 

"petmay" (Austria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When the Sleeper Wakes (Everyman Paperback) (Paperback)

The Everyman edition is really great, though it has many additional information about H.G. Wells and his time. So if you want to get additional information this book is the right one. John Lawtons introduction gives you a brief overview about H.G. Wells and the book. A listing of historical facts, Wells life and science and art, sort by date, gives the reader the possibility to understand his books better. At the end some critics are collected and suggestions for further reading are made.

The book itself / Summary:
A stranger came to an artist and reported him that he can't sleep. The artist invites him in his house, where the stranger falls asleep in a chair. The artist thinks he died, as he doesn't react anymore, but he just fell into a deep trance. The years passed on and Isbister, the artist, doesn't believe that he will ever wake again.
But long after Isbister's death, Graham, the stranger, wakes in an unknown surrounding and everything seems very strange. From outside he can hear people screaming "Wake" but he doesn't know what this means and soon after his awakening he faints. After he recovers he is told that his trance lasted 203 years. He learns a lot about the new age and there is still the crowd which requires the Sleeper. Because of this, he goes on a balcony where the people can see him, but he is pulled away and a man leads him through a huge building and finally to the council. After a short discussion he is brought into 2 rooms, where he's kept imprisoned. In his room he discovers new things, but he doesn't get new information about the world. After a few days a few people help him to escape and after a chase he lands in a theatre, where the people receive him. But he is very weak and so he's brought into a small room, where Graham is told that he owns nearly the whole world, because his fortune grew steadily. He meets Lincoln, who was Ostrog's brother, who is the leader of the revolution, and an unknown beautiful woman. Graham appears in front of the crowd and tells them to march, because Lincoln told him to do so. Then a fight begins in front of the council house, which Graham watches guarded from the distance, but the enemies chase Graham and so he looses his guards and has to flee. In a lonely street he meets an old man, who tells him the history of the world and that Ostrog just takes advantage of the Sleeper. As Graham reveals himself the old man doesn't want to believe and so Graham goes back to Ostrog's headquarter, where he meets Ostrog for the first time. After watching the decline from the council, they go to the council house and Graham gets a Japanese attendant, whose name is Asano. Graham and Asano go to the top of a wind-vane and later to a high society party, where Graham is told much more about the world. After Graham flew with an Aeropile, an aeroplane, he is so fascinated that he spends his next days with becoming an aeronaut. Then he meets again the unknown woman, which is Helen Woton, a niece of Ostrog, she reports him of the slavery and bad conditions under which the people are living and begs that he should rule. He discusses his knew knowledge with Ostrog, but he tries to convince him that everything is necessary. However Graham, guarded by Asano, goes into the city to see how the people are really living. After watching the middle class and the stations in which children are brought up, he goes to the working places of the poor workers. He's very upset while watching them, but he hears shouts which tell him that the black police is coming. The black police is feared, as they are a cruel specialist unit of Negros, which should bring the people into order. Graham and Asano flee back to the headquarter, where Graham has a quarrel with Ostrog and as a result Ostrog wants to imprison him. However the crowd sees this and they free Graham, but an Aeropile can help Ostrog to escape. Helen comes back and Graham holds a speech to the people to prepare them for a war to prevent the black police from reaching London. They can capture one flight stage out of four, but this is not enough and so Graham decides to take an Aeropile to fight against the aeroplanes, which bring the black police. He's successful and able to dispel and even destroy some ships from the black police. After this large fight, he sees the Aeropile in which Ostrog flees and he starts to fight it but he looses and the earth is coming near.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When the sleeper wakes, March 14, 2011

By 

Sally (Indiana United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When the Sleeper Wakes (Kindle Edition)

This was certainly a page turner. A man back in the early years of the victorian age has terrible insomnia and wants to end it all. He finally sleeps, he sleeps on into a new age. only to discover he is the richest man in the world, from here it gets pretty dicey. Its a good short read. Enjoy!