The Stolen Bacillus and other incidents (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. (The original 1895 edition of 15 fantasy and science fiction short stories)By H. G. Wells
Length6h 20m
About this audiobook
The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents (1895) gathers H. G. Wells's early short fiction at the moment when Victorian scientific optimism begins to shade into modern anxiety. These brisk, ironic tales transform laboratories, drawing rooms, and city streets into sites of intellectual disturbance, where microbes, inventions, and improbable accidents expose the fragility of social order. Written in a lucid, journalistic style sharpened by satire and grotesque comedy, the collection belongs to the late nineteenth-century tradition of scientific romance while anticipating the speculative precision of modern science fiction. Wells's own formation is crucial to the book's force. Trained in biology under T. H. Huxley and shaped by experiences of class insecurity, illness, journalism, and teaching, he brought to fiction both scientific literacy and a reformer's impatience with complacency. His fascination with evolution, contagion, and technological power informs these stories, yet so does his gift for observing vanity, fear, and moral absurdity in ordinary people. This volume is recommended to readers seeking Wells beyond his famous novels: concise, inventive, and intellectually mischievous. It offers a revealing entry into his imagination and into the cultural tensions of the fin de siècle.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- The Author Biography highlights personal milestones and literary influences that shape the entire body of writing.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.3 (11)
Includes Amazon
GenreScience Fiction, General Fiction
Length6 hrs 20 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateSep 5, 2013
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
13The Temptation of Harringay
2Introduction
14The Flying Man
3Author Biography
15The Diamond Maker
4Historical Context
16Aepyornis Island
5Synopsis (Selection)
17The Remarkable Case of Davidson’s Eyes
Show all chaptersShow less
6The Stolen Bacillus and other incidents (The original 1895 edition of 15 fantasy and science fiction short stories)
18The Lord of the Dynamos
7The Stolen Bacillus
19The Hammerpond Park Burglary
8The Flowering of the Strange Orchid
20A Moth — Genus Novo
9In the Avu Observatory
21The Treasure in the Forest
10The Triumphs of a Taxidermist
22Analysis
11A Deal in Ostriches
23Reflection
12Through a Window
24Memorable Quotes
Die ZeitmaschineH. G. Wells3h 45m4.0 (643.9K)$9 · $0.00
Die Insel des Dr. Moreau (Science-Fiction-Klassiker)H. G. Wells, Felix Paul Greve5h 22m4.4 (11)$1 · $0.00
SELECT CONVERSATIONS WITH AN UNCLE (The Original 1895 edition)H. G. Wells3h 20m3.4 (161)$1.99 · $0.00
THE WILD ASSES OF THE DEVILH. G. Wells2h 4m3.5 (10)$1.99 · $0.00
The Time Machine (Unabridged)H. G. Wells5h 2m4.0 (649.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
This Misery of BootsH. G. Wells2h 22m3.5 (90)$1.99 · $0.00
TALES OF SPACE AND TIMEH. G. Wells9h 18m3.9 (3.2K)$1.99 · $0.00
The War of The Worlds (A Sci-Fi Classic)H. G. Wells8h 15m4.5 (11.2K)$1.99 · $0.00
THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAUH. G. Wells6h 21m3.9 (173.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
Dystopian Novels of H. G. WellsH. G. Wells22h 37m4.3 (23)$1.99 · $0.00
The Wheels of ChanceH. G. Wells7h 59m3.6 (1.2K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Shape of Things To Come - A Science Fiction ClassicH. G. Wells19h 44m3.7 (3.3K)$2.99 · $0.00
THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAUH. G. Wells6h 18m3.9 (165.6K)$1.99 · $0.00
The War in the AirH. G. Wells9h 31m3.7 (2.2K)$14 · $0.00
Die Riesen kommen!H. G. Wells9h 48m3.6 (15.9K)$1 · $0.00
Der LuftkriegH. G. Wells12h 54m3.6 (9.4K)$1 · $0.00
INTERGALACTIC ENTERPRISE: 60+ Space Sci-Fi Novels in One EditionH. G. Wells, Percy Greg, Jules Verne, David Lindsay, Edward Everett Hale, H. Beam Piper, Philip K. Dick, E. E. Smith, Murray Leinster, Fritz Leiber, Richard Stockham, Irving E. Cox, Frederik Pohl, Edwin Lester Arnold, John Jacob Astor, Gustavus W. Pope310h 42m$1.99 · $0.00
The Greatest Science Fiction Classics of H. G. Wells (Unabridged) (Annotated)H. G. Wells98h 56m4.4 (139)$2 · $0.00
Greatest Science Fiction Classics of H. G. Wells (Annotated)H. G. Wells98h 56m$2 · $0.00
Men Like Gods (Annotated)H. G. Wells11h 7m4.3 (153)$2 · $0.00
Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A Toshikazu Kawaguchi Book SetToshikazu Kawaguchi18h 55m4.5 (1.4K)$40 · $0.00
PRIMAL 2055 - EscapeJack Silkstone6h 47m4.4 (232)Free
Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen (Annotated)H. Beam Piper8h 23m4.5 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
Philip K. Dick: SF Boxed SetPhilip K. Dick29h 38m4.5 (608)$1 · $0.00
Magician's EndRaymond E. Feist17h 5m4.4 (21.7K)$40 · $0.00
Good OmensNeil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett12h 14m4.4 (1M)$29 · $0.00
The Emperor's FistJay Allan8h 37m4.5 (272)$26 · $0.00
The DispossessedUrsula K. Le Guin13h 26m4.4 (189.3K)$33 · $0.00
1984George Orwell11h 31m4.3 (6.2M)$1.20 · $0.00
Lost ValleyWalt Browning7h 47m4.3 (5.4K)$20 · $0.00
AgincourtBernard Cornwell16h 18m4.3 (41.4K)$40 · $0.00
Frankenstein (The Uncensored 1818 Edition) (Annotated)Mary Shelley9h 25m4.3 (1.7M)$3 · $0.00
The World Wasn't Ready for YouJustin C. Key11h 34m4.4 (812)$5 · $0.00
Godzilla vs. KongGreg Keyes10h 32m4.3 (1.4K)$20 · $0.00
Alas, Babylon (Annotated)Pat Frank12h 32m4.3 (11.6K)$2 · $0.00
Day of WrathWilliam R. Forstchen4h 36m4.3 (1.9K)$14 · $0.00
AbandonedJules Verne7h 42m4.3 (1.1K)$2.30 · $0.00
StargodsIan Douglas12h 15m4.4 (732)$5 · $0.00
Two Plays for VoicesNeil Gaiman2h 4m4.3 (1K)$16 · $0.00
March UpcountryDavid Weber, John Ringo17h 17m4.2 (17.1K)$28 · $0.00
WhistlerAnn Patchett10h 45m4.6 (4.6K)$29 · $0.00
Demon CopperheadBarbara Kingsolver21h 3m4.5 (949.4K)$46 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
Remarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van Pelt11h 17m4.4 (1.7M)$29 · $0.00
Cast in BloodMichelle Sagara16h 35m4.6 (607)$33 · $0.00
The Captain Blood Trilogy (Annotated)Rafael Sabatini29h 20m4.6 (1K)$3 · $0.00
Ship of the Line (Annotated)Cecil Louis Troughton Smith11h 13m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
The George Orwell CollectionGeorge Orwell24h 46m4.5 (14.4K)$12 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 38m4.5 (9.2K)$2 · $0.00
Driving ForceElle James4h 58m4.6 (407)$20 · $0.00
When God Calls the HeartBrian Bird, Michelle Cox3h 24m4.6 (439)$10 · $0.00
Five Little IndiansMichelle Good10h 34m4.5 (64.5K)$29 · $0.00
Lolth's WarriorR. A. Salvatore13h 20m4.6 (2.4K)$33 · $0.00
The Things We Cannot SayKelly Rimmer13h 48m4.5 (359.1K)$33 · $0.00
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du BoisHonoree Fanonne Jeffers29h 49m4.5 (58K)$8 · $0.00
Going PostalTerry Pratchett11h 23m4.5 (189.9K)$29 · $0.00
Glen AffricKarine Giebel22h 51m4.5 (3.2K)$46 · $0.00
The Book Of NegroesLawrence Hill15h 45m4.5 (107.3K)$33 · $0.00
Anne of Green GablesL. M. Montgomery11h 1m4.5 (1.2M)$2.30 · $0.00
Lieutenant Hornblower (Annotated)C. S. Forester11h 41m4.5 (2.9K)$2 · $0.00
You may also like
The Country of the Blind, and 32 Other Stories (The original unabridged edition)H. G. Wells18h 42m3.9 (1.3K)$2 · $0.00
The Country of the Blind, and 32 Other Stories (The original unabridged edition)H. G. Wells18h 28m4.1 (1.9K)$1 · $0.00
Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen (Annotated)H. Beam Piper8h 23m4.5 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
H. G. Wells: Collected Works (Annotated)H. G. Wells427h 28m4.5 (1.3K)$2 · $0.00
The Country of the Blind, and 32 Other Stories (The original unabridged edition) (Annotated)H. G. Wells19h4.2 (4.7K)$1.99 · $0.00
SCI-FI & FANTASY COLLECTION – Tales of Illusion & Supernatural (Illustrated) (Annotated)Edgar Allan Poe11h 28m4.4 (20)$2 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Erle Cox (Annotated)Erle Cox36h 23m$1.99 · $0.00
Twelve Stories and a DreamH. G. Wells9h 15m4.0 (374)$1.99 · $0.00
In Search of the Unknown (Annotated)Robert W. Chambers8h 30m$1.20 · $0.00
Building And Flying An AeroplaneCharles B. Hayward5h 5m$2.30
Amazing Tales Volume 125Robert Randall4h 2m$2.30
The Plattner Story, and OthersH. G. Wells7h 46m3.8 (197)$2.30 · $0.00
E. F. Benson: Complete Short Stories Collection: 70+ Classic, Ghost, Spook, Supernatural, Mystery, Haunting and Other Tales (Annotated)E. F. Benson41h 46m$2 · $0.00
The Mummy! (Annotated)Jane C. Loudon19h 48m3.4 (393)$1.99 · $0.00
The Greatest Classics of Science Fiction (Annotated)Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Mary Shelley, Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Edwin A. Abbott, Jack London, Edward Bellamy, Robert Louis Stevenson, George MacDonald, H. Rider Haggard, William Hope Hodgson, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Ayn Rand, Hugh Benson, David Lindsay, Abraham Merritt182h 8m4.4 (30)$1.99 · $0.00
The Adventures Of A Special Correspondent Among The Various Races And Countries Of Central AsiaJules Verne8h 13m3.5 (695)$2.30
Astounding Stories Of Super Science March 1931Various Various8h 12m3.8 (17)$2.30
The Masters of Science Fiction - Erle Cox Edition (Annotated)Erle Cox36h 24m$1.99 · $0.00
Tales of the UnexpectedH. G. Wells9h 12m4.0 (30)$2.30
McWhinney's JauntRobert Lawson47m4.1 (80)$2 · $0.00