The Argonauts of the Air
"The Argonauts of the Air" | |
---|---|
Short story by H. G. Wells | |
Country | United Kingdom |
Genre(s) | Science fiction |
Publication | |
Published in | Phil May's Annual |
Media type | |
Publication date | December 1895 |
"The Argonauts of the Air" is a short story by H. G. Wells, first published in 1895 in Phil May's Annual. It was included in the collection of Wells short stories The Plattner Story and Others, published by Methuen & Co. in 1897.[1]
Written several years before the first flight of the Wright brothers, it describes the painstaking development of a flying machine, in the face of public amusement, and its unsuccessful trial flight over London.
Wells lived at one time in Worcester Park, where the machine is launched;[2] he studied at the Royal College of Science, where it crashes. [3]
Story summary
For several years, Monson has used his wealth on a project to build a flying machine. The apparatus for launching it, "a massive alley of interlacing iron and timber", has become a notable landmark for people passing through Worcester Park in south-west London, and sometimes they see a machine rush along the rails of the apparatus, as the latest version of the flying machine is tested.
Monson's money is running out, and he is impatient with the time taken to put the latest modifications into effect. He is annoyed with the attitude of the public, who regard with amusement and indifference what is actually a painstaking and well-researched project, based on the work of Hiram Maxim and Otto Lilienthal. In particular he is annoyed by the remarks of a pretty young lady:
'How are you getting on with your flying-machine?' she asked. ('I wonder if I shall ever meet anyone with the sense not to ask that,' thought Monson.) 'It will be very dangerous at first, will it not?' ('Thinks I'm afraid.').... 'You must let me know when your flying-machine is finished, Mr. Monson, and then I will consider the advisability of taking a ticket.' ('One would think I was still playing inventions in the nursery.')
Monson and his engineer Woodhouse agree to try a flight. They know they will not be able to manage their flight instinctively, as a bird would do. Wimbledon, Primrose Hill and Kensington Gardens are some of the places which they fly over, all the while having difficulty controlling the machine. Eventually their luck runs out and they crash near the Royal College of Science.
So ends Monson's project. All that remains is the rusting ironwork at Worcester Park, and the inspiration for others to attempt creating flying machines.
References
- ^ The Argonauts of the Air title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database accessed 15 August 2015.
- ^ Lost buildings Epsom and Ewell History Explorer, accessed 15 August 2015.
- ^ H. G. Wells Encyclopædia Britannica, accessed 15 August 2015.
External links
- The complete short fiction of H. G. Wells at Standard Ebooks
- The Plattner Story and Others at Project Gutenberg includes "The Argonauts of the Air"
- v
- t
- e
- The Time Machine (1895)
- The Wonderful Visit (1895)
- The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896)
- The Wheels of Chance (1896)
- The Invisible Man (1897)
- The War of the Worlds (1898)
- When the Sleeper Wakes (1899)
- Love and Mr Lewisham (1900)
- The First Men in the Moon (1901)
- The Sea Lady (1902)
- The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth (1904)
- Kipps (1905)
- A Modern Utopia (1905)
- In the Days of the Comet (1906)
- The War in the Air (1908)
- Tono-Bungay (1909)
- Ann Veronica (1909)
- The History of Mr Polly (1910)
- The Sleeper Awakes (1910)
- The New Machiavelli (1911)
- Marriage (1912)
- The Passionate Friends (1913)
- The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman (1914)
- The World Set Free (1914)
- Bealby (1915)
- Boon (1915)
- The Research Magnificent (1915)
- Mr. Britling Sees It Through (1916)
- The Soul of a Bishop (1917)
- Joan and Peter (1918)
- The Undying Fire (1919)
- The Secret Places of the Heart (1922)
- Men Like Gods (1923)
- The Dream (1924)
- Christina Alberta's Father (1925)
- The World of William Clissold (1926)
- Meanwhile (1927)
- Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island (1928)
- The Autocracy of Mr. Parham (1930)
- The Bulpington of Blup (1932)
- The Shape of Things to Come (1933)
- The Croquet Player (1936)
- Brynhild (1937)
- Star Begotten (1937)
- The Camford Visitation (1937)
- Apropos of Dolores (1938)
- The Brothers (1938)
- The Holy Terror (1939)
- Babes in the Darkling Wood (1940)
- All Aboard for Ararat (1940)
- You Can't Be Too Careful (1941)
- Anticipations
- Certain Personal Matters
- Crux Ansata
- The Discovery of the Future
- An Englishman Looks at the World
- Experiment in Autobiography
- The Fate of Man
- First and Last Things
- Floor Games
- The Future in America
- God the Invisible King
- In the Fourth Year
- Little Wars
- Mankind in the Making
- Mind at the End of Its Tether
- Mr. Belloc Objects to "The Outline of History"
- The New America
- The New World Order
- New Worlds for Old
- The Open Conspiracy
- The Outline of History
- Russia in the Shadows
- The Science of Life
- A Short History of the World
- The Story of a Great Schoolmaster
- This Misery of Boots
- Travels of a Republican Radical in Search of Hot Water
- War and the Future
- The Way the World Is Going
- The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind
- World Brain
- A Year of Prophesying
- "Æpyornis Island"
- "The Argonauts of the Air"
- "The Beautiful Suit"
- "The Chronic Argonauts"
- "The Cone"
- "The Country of the Blind"
- "The Crystal Egg"
- "A Deal in Ostriches"
- "The Diamond Maker"
- "The Door in the Wall"
- "A Dream of Armageddon"
- "The Empire of the Ants"
- "In the Abyss"
- "The Land Ironclads"
- "Mr. Ledbetter's Vacation"
- "The Lord of the Dynamos"
- "The Man Who Could Work Miracles"
- "The New Accelerator"
- "The Pearl of Love"
- "The Plattner Story"
- "The Queer Story of Brownlow's Newspaper"
- "The Red Room"
- "The Sea Raiders"
- "The Star"
- "The Stolen Body"
- "A Story of the Days to Come"
- "A Story of the Stone Age"
- "Triumphs of a Taxidermist"
- "The Truth About Pyecraft"
- "A Vision of Judgment"
- Things to Come (1936)
- The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1937)
- Political views
- G. P. Wells
- Anthony West (son)
- Joseph Wells (father)
- Simon Wells (great-grandson)
- H. G. Wells Society
- Lunar crater
- Time After Time (1979 film)
![]() | This article about a science fiction short story (or stories) published in the 1890s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e