The spinster & the prophet

A. B. McKillop

"Did H. G. Wells, author of The Time Machine and War of the Worlds, plagiarize the book that made his fortune?" "Published in 1920 at the peak of his career, the Outline of History was a sweeping chronicle of the world. A departure for Wells, who was best known for his autobiographical fiction and futuristic fantasy, The Outline became his bestselling book ever.". "Two years earlier, Florence Deeks, a "spinster" and amateur student of history, sent a similar work to Wells's North American publisher. Deeks intended to set the record straight by writing the first feminist history of the world. Her finished manuscript, which the publisher kept for eight months and returned in a dogeared condition, was ultimately rejected and never published.". "Upon publication of Wells's massive opus (1,324 pages), which he completed in a miraculous eighteen months, Deeks discovered similarities...

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