“The Wonderful Visit” by H.G. Wells

H.G. Wells (1866-1946) is best known for his science fiction stories, like The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Invisible Man, and the story Orson Welles made famous on radio (which terrified the listening audience), The War of the Worlds. But Wells wrote far more, including a curious novella called The Wonderful Visit. 

People living near the Sidderton Moor in rural England begin reporting the sighting of a strange bird. It seems suffused with light, and the bird is typically seen at night. Occasional sightings are reporting, and the local Vicar of Sidderton, a hunting enthusiast, decides he’s going to find and bag this strange bird.

 

The Vicar is successful, at least to some extent. He wings what he thinks is the bird, only to discover he has wounded an angel.

 

Mortified by his action, the Vicar (who remains unnamed) brings the angel home to recover. The angel goes by the name of Thomas, and he presents the first shock to Victorian sensibility by appearing in his very slight angel clothes before a group of women meeting at the Vicar’s house. Thomas is a beautiful creature, and the women at first believe the unmarried Vicar has brought an unescorted and scantily clad woman to his house.

 

H.G. Wells

Other encounters ensue. The villagers grow increasingly incensed, not only by Thomas himself but also the Vicar. What is the clergyman thinking here?

 

What the story of the Vicar and Thomas the Angel allows Wells to do is offer a humorous if rather biting commentary on how different people would react to experiencing an angel in their midst. The story was published in 1895, at the very pinnacle of Britain’s empire and worldwide influence.

 

Wells published more than 50 novels and numerous short stories. He’s been called “the father of science fiction,” but fans of Jules Verne might disagree. He was well known for his socialist and pacifist views. He was also something of a futurist and foresaw such technological developments as space flight, nuclear weapons, satellite television, aircraft, and even something resembling the worldwide web. His literary influence was extensive, not only in science fiction circles with such writers as Isaac Asmiov, Ursula LeGuin, Frank Herbert, and Ray Bradbury, but also with literary writers like Vladimir Nabakov, Sinclair Lewis, and Jorge Luis Borges.

 

The Wonderful Visit is still great fun to read with a bit of social commentary. And it makes one think of how people in our own time might react to having an angel in their midst.