'So, in the end, above ground you must have the Haves, pursuing pleasure and comfort and beauty, and below ground the Have-nots, the Workers...'

The first book H. G. Wells published, 'The Time Machine', is a scientific romance that helped invent the genre of science fiction and the time travel story. Even before its serialisation had finished in the spring of 1895, Wells had been declared 'a man of genius', and the book heralded a fifty year career of a major cultural and political controversialist. It is a sardonic rejection of Victorian ideals of progress and improvement and a detailed satirical commentary on the Decadent culture of the 1890s.

Listen to Roger Luckhurst, editor of the Oxford World’s Classics edition, discuss the plot and themes of The Time Machine, as well as Wells’ influences and impact on science fiction.

'So, in the end, above ground you must have the Haves, pursuing pleasure and comfort and beauty, and below ground the Have-nots, the Workers...'

The first book H. G. Wells published, 'The Time Machine', is a scientific romance that helped invent the genre of science fiction and the time travel story. Even before its serialisation had finished in the spring of 1895, Wells had been declared 'a man of genius', and the book heralded a fifty year career of a major cultural and political controversialist. It is a sardonic rejection of Victorian ideals of progress and improvement and a detailed satirical commentary on the Decadent culture of the 1890s.

Listen to Roger Luckhurst, editor of the Oxford World’s Classics edition, discuss the plot and themes of The Time Machine, as well as Wells’ influences and impact on science fiction.

'So, in the end, above ground you must have the Haves, pursuing pleasure and comfort and beauty, and below ground the Have-nots, the Workers...'

The first book H. G. Wells published, 'The Time Machine', is a scientific romance that helped invent the genre of science fiction and the time travel story. Even before its serialisation had finished in the spring of 1895, Wells had been declared 'a man of genius', and the book heralded a fifty year career of a major cultural and political controversialist. It is a sardonic rejection of Victorian ideals of progress and improvement and a detailed satirical commentary on the Decadent culture of the 1890s.

Listen to Roger Luckhurst, editor of the Oxford World’s Classics edition, discuss the plot and themes of The Time Machine, as well as Wells’ influences and impact on science fiction.

'So, in the end, above ground you must have the Haves, pursuing pleasure and comfort and beauty, and below ground the Have-nots, the Workers...'

The first book H. G. Wells published, 'The Time Machine', is a scientific romance that helped invent the genre of science fiction and the time travel story. Even before its serialisation had finished in the spring of 1895, Wells had been declared 'a man of genius', and the book heralded a fifty year career of a major cultural and political controversialist. It is a sardonic rejection of Victorian ideals of progress and improvement and a detailed satirical commentary on the Decadent culture of the 1890s.

Listen to Roger Luckhurst, editor of the Oxford World’s Classics edition, discuss the plot and themes of The Time Machine, as well as Wells’ influences and impact on science fiction.

'Love...it means too much to me, far more than you can understand.'

Anna Karenina is a beautiful and intelligent woman, whose passionate love for a handsome officer sweeps aside all other ties - to her marriage and to the network of relationships and moral values that bind the society around her. Her love affair with Vronsky is played out alongside the developing romance between Kitty and Levin, and in the character of Levin, closely based on Tolstoy himself, the search for happiness takes on a deeper philosophical significance.

Listen to Rosamund Bartlett, editor and translator of the Oxford World’s Classics edition, introduce Anna Karenina and Leo Tolstoy’s style on the links below.

'Love...it means too much to me, far more than you can understand.'

Anna Karenina is a beautiful and intelligent woman, whose passionate love for a handsome officer sweeps aside all other ties - to her marriage and to the network of relationships and moral values that bind the society around her. Her love affair with Vronsky is played out alongside the developing romance between Kitty and Levin, and in the character of Levin, closely based on Tolstoy himself, the search for happiness takes on a deeper philosophical significance.

Listen to Rosamund Bartlett, editor and translator of the Oxford World’s Classics edition, introduce Anna Karenina and Leo Tolstoy’s style on the links below.

'Love...it means too much to me, far more than you can understand.'

Anna Karenina is a beautiful and intelligent woman, whose passionate love for a handsome officer sweeps aside all other ties - to her marriage and to the network of relationships and moral values that bind the society around her. Her love affair with Vronsky is played out alongside the developing romance between Kitty and Levin, and in the character of Levin, closely based on Tolstoy himself, the search for happiness takes on a deeper philosophical significance.

Listen to Rosamund Bartlett, editor and translator of the Oxford World’s Classics edition, introduce Anna Karenina and Leo Tolstoy’s style on the links below.

'Love...it means too much to me, far more than you can understand.'

Anna Karenina is a beautiful and intelligent woman, whose passionate love for a handsome officer sweeps aside all other ties - to her marriage and to the network of relationships and moral values that bind the society around her. Her love affair with Vronsky is played out alongside the developing romance between Kitty and Levin, and in the character of Levin, closely based on Tolstoy himself, the search for happiness takes on a deeper philosophical significance.

Listen to Rosamund Bartlett, editor and translator of the Oxford World’s Classics edition, introduce Anna Karenina and Leo Tolstoy’s style on the links below.

'Love...it means too much to me, far more than you can understand.'

Anna Karenina is a beautiful and intelligent woman, whose passionate love for a handsome officer sweeps aside all other ties - to her marriage and to the network of relationships and moral values that bind the society around her. Her love affair with Vronsky is played out alongside the developing romance between Kitty and Levin, and in the character of Levin, closely based on Tolstoy himself, the search for happiness takes on a deeper philosophical significance.

Listen to Rosamund Bartlett, editor and translator of the Oxford World’s Classics edition, introduce Anna Karenina and Leo Tolstoy’s style on the links below.

'Love...it means too much to me, far more than you can understand.'

Anna Karenina is a beautiful and intelligent woman, whose passionate love for a handsome officer sweeps aside all other ties - to her marriage and to the network of relationships and moral values that bind the society around her. Her love affair with Vronsky is played out alongside the developing romance between Kitty and Levin, and in the character of Levin, closely based on Tolstoy himself, the search for happiness takes on a deeper philosophical significance.

Listen to Rosamund Bartlett, editor and translator of the Oxford World’s Classics edition, introduce Anna Karenina and Leo Tolstoy’s style on the links below.