Herbert George WELLS, “The Time Machine”, 1895 was the topic of an earlier blog post.
Here I present: Herbert George WELLS, “Wheels of Chance: Bicycling Idyl”, 1896 which was a bicycling travelogue.
Idyl is a simple descriptive work in poetry or prose that deals with rustic life or pastoral scenes; and, a bicycle is perfect for seeing these scenes.
The bicycle was invented 205 years ago by Karl Freiherr Drais; and, the first bicycle trip took place on 12th June 1817. However, it was not until 1885 when John Kemp Starley invented the “safety bicycle” that cycling became a popular transportation invention.
“The Wheels of Chance“ was written at the height of the cycling craze (1890-1905) when practical, comfortable bicycles first became widely and cheaply available and before the rise of the automobile.
The “table of contents” of “Wheels of Chance” is given below. 
The list of principal characters includes: 1. Mr. Hoopdriver (the protagonist), 2. Jessie Milton, 3. Bechamel, 4. Briggs, 5. Mrs. Milton, 6. Wickens & 7. Dayle.
The protagonist of “Wheels of Chance”, Mr. Hoopdriver is a frustrated “draper’s assistant” in Putney, London ENGLAND and is poorly paid.
Mr. Hoopdriver owns a bicycle and sets out on a ten (10) day tour of the South Coast of ENGLAND. The novel is a travelogue of ten (10) days across the South Coast of ENGLAND on a bicycling holiday. Jessie Milton is the love interest of Mr. Hoopdriver. and important in the ten (10) days of the story.
Here I presented: Herbert George WELLS, “Wheels of Chance: Bicycling Idyl”, 1896 a bicycling travelogue.
Herbert George WELLS, “The Time Machine”, 1895 was the topic of an earlier blog post.
“Wheels of Chance: Bicycling Idyl”, 1896 a bicycling travelogue was published a year after “The Time Machine”, 1985 by Herbert George WELLS.
Travelogue fiction is what Wells writes best; and the invention of the bicycle is not usually an invention of a SciFi novel today. However, in 1896 the bicycle was the craze (1890-1905) and before the rise of the automobile.
