This Norton Critical Edition includes:
- The 1896 William Heinemann edition of the novel.
- An expansive and thought-provoking introduction, a note on the text detailing the complex publication history, and explanatory footnotes.
- Ten illustrations, including the 1896 frontispiece and related sources.
- An especially rich selection of contextual materials, topically organized: Evolution; Race, Cannibalism, and Empire; Animality, Science, and the Vivisection Debate; Literary Influences; and further writings by Wells.
- Twenty-six critical interpretations from early nineteenth century views to the most current critical scholarship.
- A chronology of Wells’s life and a selected bibliography.