H G Wells seems best remembered for "book-of-the-film" science-fiction stories, socialism, an affair with Rebecca West , and eugenics. But in his lifetime, his books were bestsellers and he won immense critical acclaim, opening up new avenues in literature with his forward-looking scientific thought and dazzlingly innovative science fiction. Peter Kemp reappraises the range of Wells's work and the nature of his originality, and shows that the intellectual issues he raised are still very much alive exactly 50 years after his death. Producer Simon Coates