H. G. Wells' Childhood Herbert George Wells had a very harsh childhood. He often went hungry as a child because of his family's money problems. On top of the family's most obvious problems, Sarah Wells, who dominated the family, had trouble running the house. She was a poor stitcher and since the family was poor she had to mend her children's clothes. Unfortunately this meant that H. G. and his brothers where often made fun of because of their poorly mended clothes. Sarah Wells also believed unconditionally in an all-powerful god, a simple god, which she tried to push upon her family. However, even as a child H. G. rejected her god because he did not trust it, referring to it as "the old sneak." H. G. also attacked religion in general. It was these hardships, however, that sent H. G.'s creativity soaring. To try and overcome the pains of growing up poor, young Wells observed his parents and brothers at work and began to dream of idealistic solutions to the everyday tasks that the family had to endure. Before H. G. Wells started school he broke his leg which confined him mainly to his room where he began to read books to escape from reality. These books made young Wells hunger for knowledge, a hunger that would never be quenched. He was very intrigued with the books about warfare and that involved heroic deeds. Wells recalled that at the age of 13 his ideas were surprisingly similar to those of Hitler. He also said that if it was not for his broken leg he would have never become an author. During school breaks and when they were not working the boys would go and visit their mother as she worked in Up Park. It was this first taste of "the real world" that lead H. G. Wells to begin to disapprove of English society. Back to Top Copyright 2000 Roman Allemann