In The Time Machine Wells pioneers the concept of travel in the 'Fourth Dimension' and speculates about the ultimate decay of the human species. The world of the effete Eloi and ape-like Morlocks, the age of giant crabs, and the final portrayal of the heat-death of the sun constitute an unforgettable vision of the future. The Time Traveller's narrow escape from the remote descendants of humanity is paralleled by Edward Prendick's horrifying adventures among the Beast Folk of The Island of Doctor Moreau. Moreau, a ruthless vivisector, chooses an uninhabited Pacific island for his attempts to change animals into human beings on the operating table. Prendick soon fears that he, too, may become a victim of Moreau's experiments. Even at their most bleakly pessimistic and ironic, these stories testify to the resources of human courage and ingenuity. This edition offers authoritative texts of both novels, explanatory notes, and an introduction setting them in the context of Wells's life and thought.