13 h 44 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 13 h 44 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if your gentle, ordinary father believes he is an ancient king—and wants the world to recognize him?
Albert Edward Preemby has little money, little standing, and few people who take him seriously. In the London of the 1920s, this mild man comes to believe he is the reincarnation of Sargon, King of Kings. His claim to greatness unsettles a world that sees him as small.
His daughter, Christina Alberta, wants her own freedom, but she also wants to protect the father she loves. In Christina Alberta's Father, H. G. Wells brings warmth and wit to their difficult bond. Around them, respectable people defend their own beliefs about class, money, and proper behavior—with rather less scrutiny.
What you’ll discover
- An unlikely king Meet a gentle Londoner whose extraordinary belief gives new force to his wish for dignity.
- A daughter seeking freedom Follow Christina Alberta as independence and love pull her in different directions.
- Respectability under scrutiny See Wells question the comfortable assumptions that decide who counts as sensible or foolish.
- Humor with a heart Enjoy light, conversational storytelling that finds small ironies without losing affection for its characters.
- The puzzle of identity Explore what happens when a person's sense of self meets other people's refusal to accept it.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy comic novels with a big heart, London in the 1920s, odd and lovable heroes, and bold young women.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A dreamy clerk is swept into marriage
- A Chelsea studio draws Christina into trouble
- A boarding house and a table that moves
- Mr. Preemby believes he is Sargon and vanishes
- Sargon calls his disciples and meets the law
- The asylum closes round him and Christina fights
- Bobby decides to steal a lunatic
- Who am I, and who could I be
- A careless world and its odd ones
- A comic voice, tags and symbols
Who’s who
- Mr. PreembyA gentle, dreamy retired laundryman who comes to believe he is Sargon, King of Kings, and wants to bring peace to the whole world.
- Christina AlbertaHis fierce, clever young daughter, who loves her Daddy and wants freedom to live her own life in London.
- Paul LamboneA rich, lazy, kindly novelist famous for wise advice, who helps Christina in his own unhurried way.
- Bobby RoothingA timid young writer who answers readers' letters, hates cages and takes in the stranger with the map of the world.
- Wilfred DevizesA thoughtful specialist in troubled minds who judges Mr. Preemby sane and works to get him out of the asylum.
- Harold and Fay CrumbChristina's artistic friends in Chelsea, who share their studio with the Preembys and never quite settle the rent.
- Teddy WintertonA charming, careless student who dances with Christina and troubles her peace and her father's.
- Sam WidgeryMrs. Preemby's cousin, who takes over the laundry and wants Mr. Preemby kept safely out of the way.
Formats and delivery
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Christina Alberta's Father
by H. G. Wells · 1925
A retired laundryman in London decides he is Sargon, King of Kings, and sets out to rule the world.
Medium level10–20 hours to readEnglish
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In short
Picture a small, plump laundryman with a vast mustache, standing on the steps of Saint Paul's in London. He is sure he rules the whole world, and he is looking for a barber.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A dreamy clerk is swept into marriage
Albert Edward Preemby grows up in the seaside town of Sheringham, the dreamy son of a photographer who runs off with a variety show.
In the summer of 1899 a bicycle knocks into him on a holiday. The rider is Chris Hossett, the determined heiress of a London laundry family. She kisses him with a force he has never met, then tells him he must marry her. Within days they are married, and a daughter follows, christened Christina Alberta.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 9 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1925
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 8 h 55 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Wells, H. G. Christina Alberta's Father. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/christina-albertas-father.
Wells, H. G. (2026). Christina Alberta's father. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/christina-albertas-father (Original work published 1925)
Wells, H. G. Christina Alberta's Father. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/christina-albertas-father.
@book{wells2026christina,
author = {Wells, H. G.},
title = {Christina Alberta's Father},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/christina-albertas-father},
note = {First published 1925}
}
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What is Christina Alberta's Father about?
It follows Mr. Preemby, a widowed laundryman in 1920s London who comes to believe he is Sargon, King of Kings, and the daughter, friends and doctors who try to protect him from the asylum.
Who is Sargon in the novel?
Sargon is the ancient Sumerian king whom Mr. Preemby believes himself to be. The name comes from a spirit message at a boarding-house séance and gives his gentle, hidden self a grand and noble shape.
When was Christina Alberta's Father written?
H. G. Wells published it in 1925. It is fiction, but it is set in the real London of its day and draws on the lunacy laws and the spiritualist fashions of the time.
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.
More by H. G. Wells
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