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What if greed, jealousy and fear could vanish—and leave humanity ready to begin again?
In England's pottery towns, kilns and chimneys blacken the sky above William Leadford, a poor, proud young man. He loves Nettie Stuart, a gardener's daughter who wants a life of her own. When wealthy Verrall enters her world, Leadford's love turns bitter with envy.
Above these private troubles, a comet grows in the night sky while nations edge toward war. Leadford's friend Parload watches with awe. In the Days of the Comet, H. G. Wells brings wounded pride and social unrest together, asking whether a different society could change the way people think and live.
What you’ll discover
- A sky above the smoke Enter the Potteries, where blackened skies frame a young man's narrowing hopes.
- Love tangled with class Meet Nettie, whose wish for her own life collides with Leadford's jealous love.
- A comet drawing closer Follow Parload's watch as a strange sight grows above a troubled world.
- Anger seen from afar An older Leadford looks back, giving his younger self's passions a second perspective.
- The possibility of change Consider Wells's argument that greed and fear grow from the way society is arranged.
Who will love it
Readers who like a hot-blooded love plot mixed with big questions about war, class and how a society could start again. It suits anyone drawn to early science fiction.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Willie sees only his own wounds
- Nettie's refusal becomes a personal wound
- Revenge carries Willie away from home
- The comet interrupts the chase
- Changed air allows clearer human feeling
- Honest rulers question their inherited power
- Love resists the wish for clarity
- An older voice judges youthful anger
- Unfair conditions can shrink decent people
Who’s who
- William LeadfordCalled Willie, a proud, quarrelsome clerk of twenty-one in the Midlands who tells the story as an old man and wants revenge for a broken heart.
- Nettie StuartThe head gardener's daughter and Willie's sweetheart, quick, curious and changeable, who wants something finer than the life she was born to.
- Edward VerrallThe handsome, clever son of the great landowner, trained for politics, who is drawn to Nettie against all the rules of his class.
- ParloadWillie's tall, quiet friend, a clerk who studies science at night and watches the comet while Willie talks about socialism.
- MelmountA large, thoughtful statesman who helped lead Britain into war and who, once he wakes, wants to put an end to all war.
- Lord RedcarThe bold young coal owner and landlord who despises democracy and drives his huge motorcar through crowds of angry miners.
- Mr. GabbitasThe curate who lodges in Willie's mother's house, a fussy, kindly man who collects travel photographs and cannot match Willie's arguments.
- Willie's motherA worn, devoted widow who takes in lodgers, believes in a gentle religion and only wants her son to stay safe.
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In the Days of the Comet
by H. G. Wells · 1906
A bitter clerk with a loaded revolver chases a runaway girl across England as a comet's green glow fills the sky.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“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 comet were about to touch the Earth and all you cared about was a girl who had left you? William Leadford, a bitter young clerk in the smoky Midlands, buys a revolver and steals money from a curate.
In the Days of the Comet at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 25 min4 h 20 min fast, 6 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 77,300 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1906by 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 bitter clerk who ignores the comet
The book opens in a tower. A visitor finds a gray-haired man writing at a desk, with a far sea and a glittering city beyond his window. He is writing about the Change, and the visitor begins to read. The story belongs to the writer, who tells it at seventy-two.
His name is William Leadford, called Willie. He grew up in the Four Towns, a district of furnaces, pot banks and slag heaps. He remembers the room of his friend Parload, with its cracked ceiling and its stinking paraffin lamp. At the time he thought it normal.
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Details
- First published
- 1906
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 5 h 55 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Wells, H. G. In the Days of the Comet. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/in-the-days-of-the-comet.
Wells, H. G. (2026). In the days of the comet. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/in-the-days-of-the-comet (Original work published 1906)
Wells, H. G. In the Days of the Comet. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/in-the-days-of-the-comet.
@book{wells2026days,
author = {Wells, H. G.},
title = {In the Days of the Comet},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/in-the-days-of-the-comet},
note = {First published 1906}
}
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What is In the Days of the Comet about?
It follows a young Midlands clerk, Willie Leadford, who sets out to kill his sweetheart and her rich lover. A comet's gas then changes the air and wakes everyone clear-headed, and the book looks at how people might remake their world.
Who is Nettie in In the Days of the Comet?
Nettie Stuart is the head gardener's daughter and Willie's first love. She leaves him for Edward Verrall, and the story then follows how Willie, Nettie and Verrall deal with their feelings before and after the comet's effect.
What is the Change in the novel?
The Change is the great awakening that follows the comet's passage. Its gas alters the nitrogen in the air, air-breathing creatures sleep for about three hours, and people wake clear-headed and ready to rebuild society.
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.
“It can all be done so easily.”
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