Tono-Bungay: With an introduction by Paul Torday

H.G. Wells

Jan 2017 · Sold by Weidenfeld & Nicolson

About this ebook

George Ponderevo, a student of science, is enlisted to help with the promotion of Tono-Bungay. Tono-Bungay is a harmful stimulant disguised as a miraculous cure-all, the creation of his ambitious uncle Edward. As the tonic prospers, George experiences a swift rise in social status, elevating him to riches and opportunities that he had never imagined, nor indeed desired. Meanwhile, George ricochets romantically between his unsuccessful marriage to Marion, his affair with the liberated Effie and his doomed relationship with the Hon. Beatrice Normandy, a childhood friend. But the Tono-Bungay empire eventually over-extends itself and George must try to prop up his uncle's finances by stealing the radioactive compound 'quap' from an island near Africa...

About the author

H.G. Wells was born in Bromley, Kent in 1866. After working as a draper's apprentice and pupil-teacher, he won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science in 1884, studying under T.H. Huxley. He was awarded a first-class honours degree in biology and resumed teaching, but was forced to retire after suffering injury. The Time Machine launched his literary career in 1895, and Wells would publish more than a hundred books, including novels, histories, essays and programmes for world regeneration before his death in 1946.