Page "H. G. Wells" Paragraph 5

Wells's parents had a turbulent marriage, due primarily to his mother being a Protestant and his father a freethinker.

When his mother returned to work as a lady's maid ( at Uppark, a country house in Sussex ), one of the conditions of work was that she would not be permitted to have living space for her husband and children.

Thereafter, she and Joseph lived separate lives, though they never divorced and remained faithful to one another.

As a consequence, Herbert's personal troubles increased as he subsequently failed as a draper and also, later, as a chemist's assistant.

After each failure, he would arrive at Uppark " the bad shilling back again!

" as he saidand stay there until a fresh start could be arranged for him.

Fortunately for Herbert, Uppark had a magnificent library in which he immersed himself, reading many classic works, including Plato's Republic, and More's Utopia.

This would be the beginning of Herbert George Wells's venture into literature.