H. G. Wells books in order
English writer
- Lived
- 1866–1946
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Books
- 118
- Series
- 1
- Also writes as
- Reginald Bliss, Septimus Browne, Sosthenes Smith
H. G. Wells published 72 novels, 6 novellas, 16 short story collections, 16 non-fiction books, 2 children's books and 6 other books, beginning with The Time Machine (1895). The series is The Outline of History (13 books, starting with The Salvaging of Civilization).
Updated September 2026
The Outline of History books in order (13)Series page
Reading order: 1 The Salvaging of Civilization (1921) · 2 Socialism and the Scientific Motive (1923) · 3 Wells' Social Anticipations (1927) · 4 The Open Conspiracy and Other Writings (1928) · 5 The New Russia (1931) · 6 What Should be Done—Now: A Memorandum on the World Situation (1932) · 7 After Democracy (1932) · 8 Marxism vs Liberalism (1934) · 9 The New World Order (1940) · 10 The Rights of Man (1940) · … all 13 below
- 1.
The Salvaging of Civilization (1921)
- 2.
Socialism and the Scientific Motive (1923)
- 3.
Wells' Social Anticipations (1927)
- 4.
The Open Conspiracy and Other Writings (1928)
- 5.
The New Russia (1931)
- 6.
What Should be Done—Now: A Memorandum on the World Situation (1932)
- 7.
After Democracy (1932)
- 8.
Marxism vs Liberalism (1934)
- 9.
The New World Order (1940)
- 10.
The Rights of Man (1940)
- 11.
Guide to the New World (1941)
- 12.
Modern Russian and English Revolutionaries (1942)
- 13.
Phoenix: A Summary of the Inescapable Conditions of World Reorganization (1942)
Where to start with H. G. Wells
Standalone novels in order
The Wonderful Visit (1895)
The Island of Doctor Moreau (Jan 1895)
The Wheels of Chance (1896)
The Invisible Man (1897)
The War of the Worlds (1897)
Love and Mr Lewisham (1899)
When The Sleeper Wakes (1899)
The First Men in the Moon (1901)
The Sea Lady (Jul 1902)
Mankind in the Making (Sep 1903)
A Modern Utopia (Apr 1905)
Kipps (Oct 1905)
In the Days of the Comet (1906)
The War in the Air (1908)
New Worlds for Old (Mar 1908)
Ann Veronica (1909)
Tono-bungay (1909)
Sleeper Awakes (1910)
The History of Mr Polly (1910)
The New Machiavelli (1910)
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)
What Is Coming? (1916)
Mr. Britling Sees It Through (Sep 1916)
The Soul of a Bishop (1917)
War and the Future (1917)
Joan and Peter (1918)
The Outline of History (1919)
The Secret Places of the Heart (1922)
Men Like Gods (1923)
The Dream (1924)
Christina Alberta's Father (1925)
The Undying Fire (1925)
The World of William Clissold (1926)
Meanwhile (1927)
Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island (1928)
The Open Conspiracy: Blue Prints for a World Revolution (1928)
The King Who Was a King (1929)
The Science of Life (1929), with Julian Huxley
The Autocracy of Mr. Parham (1930)
The Bulpington of Blup (1932)
The Shape of Things to Come (Sep 1933)
Experiment in Autobiography: Discoveries and Conclusions of a Very Ordinary Brain (since 1866) (Sep 1934)
The Anatomy of Frustration (1936)
Brynhild (1937)
Star-Begotten (1937)
The Fate of Man (1939)
The Holy Terror (1939)
Babes in the Darkling Wood (1940)
You Can't Be Too Careful (1941)
Apropos of Dolores (1946)
The 5th Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories (1972)
Cults! (1983)
Novellas in order
The Chronic Argonauts (1888)
The Time Machine (1895)
Little Wars: A Game for Boys from Twelve Years of Age to One Hundred and Fifty and for That More Intelligent Sort of Girl Who Likes Boys' Games and Books (1913)
In the Fourth Year (May 1918)
The Croquet Player (1936)
The Brothers (1938)
Short story collections in order
Select Conversations with an Uncle (1895)
The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents (Sep 1895)
Thirty Strange Stories (1897)
Tales of Space and Time (1899)
Twelve Stories, and a Dream (1903)
The Short Stories of H.g. Wells (1921)
Ghost Stories (1956)
Great Short Stories of the World (1972)
The Nightmare Reader (1973)
The Arbor House Treasury of Horror and the Supernatural (1981)
Great Short Tales of Mystery and Terror (1982)
The Penguin Book of Horror Stories (1984)
Isaac Asimov Presents Tales of the Occult (1989)
Non-fiction in order
Certain Personal Matters: A Collection of Material, Mainly Autobiographical (1897)
The Future in America (1906)
First and Last Things (1908)
The Discovery of the Future (1913)
God the Invisible King (1917)
The Journal of a Disappointed Man (1919)
Russia in the Shadows (1920)
A Short History of the World (1922)
Washington and the Riddle of Peace (1922)
A Year of Prophesying (1924)
The Story of a Great Schoolmaster (1924)
The History of the World (1927)
The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind (1931)
World Brain (1938)
Children's books in order
Floor Games (Dec 1911)
The Magic Shop (1986)
Other books in order
Text-book of Biology (1892)
The War That Will End War (1914)
What Are We to Do with Our Lives? (1935)
All Aboard for Ararat (1940)
Science and the World-mind (1942)
Crux Ansata (1943)
Film and TV adaptations
- Island of Lost Souls (1932)Film · from The Island of Doctor Moreau
- The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977)Film · from The Island of Doctor Moreau
- The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)Film · from The Island of Doctor Moreau
- The Time Machine (1960)Film · from The Time Machine
- The Time Machine (1978)TV · from The Time Machine
- The Time Machine (2002)Film · from The Time Machine
- The Invisible Man (1933)Film · from The Invisible Man
- The Invisible Woman (1940)Film · from The Invisible Man
- Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)Film · from The Invisible Man
- The Invisible Man (2020)Film · from The Invisible Man
- The War of the Worlds (1953)Film · from The War of the Worlds
- War of the Worlds (2005)Film · from The War of the Worlds
- War of the WorldsTV · from The War of the Worlds
- The War of the WorldsTV · from The War of the Worlds
- A Trip to the Moon (1902)Film · from The First Men in the Moon
- The First Men in the Moon (1919)Film · from The First Men in the Moon
- First Men in the Moon (1964)Film · from The First Men in the Moon
- The First Men in the Moon (2010)TV · from The First Men in the Moon
- The Food of the Gods (1976)Film · from The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth
- The Passionate Friends (1949)Film · from The Passionate Friends
- Things to Come (1936)Film · from The Shape of Things to Come
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About H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than forty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, history, popular science, satire, biography, and autobiography. Wells is most known today for his groundbreaking science fiction novels; he has sometimes been called the "father of science fiction", a title that has also been given to Jules Verne and Hugo Gernsback.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
H. G. Wells FAQ
- How many books has H. G. Wells written?
- H. G. Wells published 72 novels, 6 novellas, 16 short story collections, 16 non-fiction books, 2 children's books and 6 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read H. G. Wells's books in?
- Read each series in its own order: start The Outline of History with The Salvaging of Civilization. The other books stand alone and can be read in any order.
- What is H. G. Wells's last book?
- Apropos of Dolores (1946).
- What is H. G. Wells's most famous book?
- The Time Machine (1895) is H. G. Wells's most widely read book.
- Are H. G. Wells's books connected?
- 13 books belong to 1 series (The Outline of History); the other 105 books stand alone.
- Does H. G. Wells write under a pen name?
- Yes: H. G. Wells has also published as Reginald Bliss, Septimus Browne and Sosthenes Smith.
- Which H. G. Wells books have been adapted?
- 8 books have been adapted for film or TV, including The Island of Doctor Moreau (as Island of Lost Souls, film, 1932), The Time Machine (film, 1960), The Invisible Man (film, 1933) and The War of the Worlds (film, 1953).
- Can I read H. G. Wells's books for free?
- Yes. 38 books by H. G. Wells are in the public domain in the US and free to read online or download here.
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Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers, free texts from Project Gutenberg. Last updated September 2026.