14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a mermaid comes ashore and refuses to obey the rules of respectable life?
On the Kent shore around Sandgate, holiday life runs on promenades, small talk and appearances. Then the Sea Lady arrives. Frank and self-possessed, she becomes a guest of the Bunting household, whose members must somehow manage a mermaid while keeping their place in polite society.
For Harry Chatteris, her arrival unsettles more than seaside manners. He has ambitions, a settled future and a fiancée, Adeline Glendower, who stands for duty and the sensible life. In The Sea Lady, H. G. Wells turns a comic fairy tale into a question: what does safety ask us to surrender?
What you’ll discover
- An impossible seaside guest Meet a mermaid whose directness leaves her careful hosts fascinated, worried and unsure what to say.
- Respectability under gentle pressure Enjoy the comedy of people trying to explain what refuses to fit their world.
- A future losing certainty Follow Harry as his settled plans begin to feel less secure beside the Sea Lady.
- Desire against duty Explore the pull between personal longing and the promises that family and friends approve.
- Wells in a lighter mood Share an amused, sympathetic narrator's view of English habits, class and carefully maintained appearances.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy a witty comedy of manners with a touch of myth will find a home here, as will fans of Wells beyond his science fiction.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A mermaid comes ashore on purpose
- Kindness gives the stranger a home
- Respectability keeps the impossible out of sight
- Chatteris begins to feel her attraction
- Better dreams make ordinary life shrink
- Adeline asks him to come back
- Duty and desire both make claims
- An uncertain voice keeps mystery alive
- A respectable house faces the sea
Who’s who
- The Sea LadyA mermaid calling herself Miss Doris Thalassia Waters, she comes ashore to find a soul, taste human life, and win Harry Chatteris.
- Adeline GlendowerA rich, earnest young woman who reads Blue Books and wants to help Chatteris into Parliament and keep him on a steady course.
- Harry ChatterisA handsome, clever, undecided nephew of an earl, he is engaged to Adeline and hopes to stand for Hythe.
- MelvilleThe narrator's tidy, careful cousin, who prefers life definite and nice and ends up as the chief witness and go between.
- Mrs BuntingA warm, practical hostess who takes in the Sea Lady, loves matchmaking, and wants above all to avoid a scene.
- Fred BuntingMrs Bunting's cheerful son, who carries the Sea Lady ashore and later explains the household crisis in plain words.
- ParkerA calm, strict lady's maid whose sense of propriety guides the Sea Lady through the human world and never bends.
- Lady Poynting MallowChatteris's blunt, practical aunt, who thinks a mermaid bride would suit him well and wants him free to choose.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook opens when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
The Sea Lady in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
The Sea Lady
by H. G. Wells · 1902
A mermaid in a red bathing dress lets herself be rescued at Folkestone, and a politician's world starts to tilt.
Easy read2–5 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with easy classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeRenews every year · Cancel anytimeHow it works
- Read, large type too
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
“remains the outstanding expositor of both the hope, and the despair, which are embodied in the technology and which are the major facts of life in our world”
In short
What would you do if a swimmer vanished in front of you, then reappeared beside a floating ladder and calmly said she had cramp? That is how The Sea Lady begins, on a blue August day in 1898, near Folkestone.
The Sea Lady at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 40 min2 h 5 min fast, 3 h 10 min slow
- Length
- 37,600 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
- First published
- 1902by H. G. Wells
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A mermaid stages a rescue to reach land
The story opens with a trick. Mrs Bunting watches her daughters Betty and Nettie and their young guest Mabel bathe below the garden near Sandgate Castle. Mabel's half sister Adeline sits on a green bench with a novel. Thirty yards out, a swimmer in a red dress and a Phrygian cap throws up her arms and vanishes.
The family does what a respectable family does. Mr Bunting and his son Fred borrow the neighbour's long wooden ladder and wade out. Neither swims well, so Mr Bunting swallows seawater, while the swimmer holds him up with one arm and says she has cramp.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1902
- Language
- English
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
Wells, H. G. The Sea Lady. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-sea-lady.
Wells, H. G. (2026). The sea lady. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-sea-lady (Original work published 1902)
Wells, H. G. The Sea Lady. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-sea-lady.
@book{wells2026sea,
author = {Wells, H. G.},
title = {The Sea Lady},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-sea-lady},
note = {First published 1902}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every eBookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Sea Lady
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Sea Lady by H. G. Wells about?
It tells how a mermaid lands at Folkestone in 1898, is taken in by a respectable family, and sets out to win Harry Chatteris, the fiancé of a serious heiress. It mixes comedy of manners, satire and a love story.
Who is the Sea Lady in the book?
She is a mermaid who calls herself Miss Doris Thalassia Waters. She says she has no soul and wants to gain one by living among humans, but she has also come for Harry Chatteris.
Who is Melville and why does he matter?
Melville is the narrator's second cousin and the chief witness to the story. Most of what the narrator knows comes from him, and he becomes the go between for Adeline, Chatteris and the Buntings.
The author
H. G. Wells
1866–1946 · English science fiction novelist
H. G. Wells (1866–1946) was an English writer born in Bromley, Kent. He wrote novels, short stories and nonfiction. His novels included The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897) and The War of the Worlds (1898). He died in London.
“Because there are better dreams.”
More by H. G. Wells
See all their booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
