The History of Mr Polly

An intriguing HG Wells work, not of the sci-fi variety, which details a man-s struggle to find himself and get along with his world. Published in 1910, this novel is the story of Alfred Polly, a generally non-descript member of the English lower middle class. The story begins when he is thirty-five years old, miserably unhappy with his life, both his circumstances and himself. In other words, he is a man with a badly muddled sense of reality who, sick of the life that he leads, burns down the outfitter-s shop that he has come to hate, gives his wife half of the insurance money, and disappears, exchanging his -acceptable- life as a shopkeeper for that of a wanderer. Unexpected events, however, conspire at the last moment to lead the bewildered Mr. Polly to a bright new future - after he saves a life, fakes his death, and escapes to a life of heroism, hope and ultimate happiness.