Thirty Strange Stories features tales of comedy, horror, monsters, strange worlds, guilt, enmity, whimsy, and avarice in some of the best of HG Wells’ short fiction, including: The Strange Orchid, The Red Room, The Plattner Story, The Argonauts of the Air, The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham, A Slip Under the Microscope, The Story of Davidson’s Eyes, and The Sea Raiders.

Certain Personal Matters is a selection by the author from among his vast output of humorous and insightful short essays and ephemeral pieces written during the 1890s. Many are whimsical and domestic, adopting the persona of an aspiring young writer, living in modest gentility with wife Euphemia. Others explore scientific themes that Wells would later develop as one of the acknowledged fathers of the science fiction genre.