The Time Machine

by H. G. Wells · 1895

The Time Machine, first published in 1895, is H. G. Wells's pioneering science‑fiction novel that introduced the concept of time travel. A Victorian scientist builds a device that carries him to the year 802,701, where he encounters two divergent human races—the gentle Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks. Through their stark contrast, Wells offers a social critique of class division and unchecked capitalism, presenting a future that is both utopian and dystopian.