SOURCE: Bergonzi, Bernard. “The Time Machine: An Ironic Myth.” In H. G. Wells: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Bernard Bergonzi, pp. 39-55. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1976.

In the following essay, originally published in 1960, Bergonzi underscores the mythical qualities of The Time Machine and outlines the major thematic concerns of the novella.

H. G. Wells seems so essentially a writer of the first half of the twentieth century that we tend to forget that if he had died in 1900 at the age of thirty-four he would already have had a dozen books to his credit. He first established his reputation by the scientific romances written during these early years of his literary career, and they have remained popular. Historically considered, they are of interest as the forerunners of much latter-day science fiction. Yet, in my opinion, more substantial claims can be made for them. They are...