Footprints without Feet

H G Wells

About the Author • H.G. WELLS (Herbert George Wells) • BIRTH - September 21, 1866 , Bromley England U K• DEATH : August 13, 1946 In 1895, Wells became an

overnight literary sensation with the publication of the novel The Time Machine. The book was about an English scientist who develops a time travel machine.

• He published the The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897) and The War of the Worlds (1898).

• The Island of Doctor Moreau told the story of a man who encounters a scientist conducting the gruesome experiments on animals, creating new species of creatures.

Background• Before we proceed• Can a man become invisible? • This is the story of a scientist who discovers how to

make himself invisible. • Does he use or misuse, His discovery?

Key points

• Griffin, a Scientist discovers a rare drug which can make a person  invisible.

• His landlord dislikes him. Griffin wants to revenge on him.  • He swallows the drug and puts the house on fire. He puts off

clothes becomes invisible and runs away. • It was cold weather and he felt the need of clothes.• He slips inside a clothe store had meal and slept at night.

Key points

• Two attendants chase him in the morning. • He was again homeless and clothes less. He loots a

shopkeeper of a theatrical company and catches a train to Iping village to live in a village.

• The money of loot doesn't last long. He steals money from Clergyman's desk to pay rent.

• Suspicion falls on the scientist when he pays rent. • Mrs. Hall finds the room of the scientist opened. She wants

to look into the room. A hat springs up and hits on her face.

Key points

• The chair of the room becomes alive and forces Mr. And Mrs. hall out of the room.

• Suddenly Griffin appears from nowhere.• When Mr. and Mrs. Hall enquire about the theft Griffin gets

angry. • He removes the bandages and falls nose. Now he was

headless. • The constable is called to arrest the headless man but he is

wounded by the invisible scientist.

Summary• Griffin, an eccentric scientist discovered a rare drug. This

could make a naked man invisible. He was not liked by his landlord. He decided to take revenge on him. One day he set his landlord's house on fire. Then he drank his rare drug and put off his clothes. Now, he could see everyone but none could see him. He was safe from being caught.

• But he was without clothes and it was very cold. He passed the night in a London store. He stole goods and money from the store. Then he went to a village called Iping. He stayed at an inn. He stole money from clergy man's desk. A policeman named Jaffers was called. A strange fight took place. Griffin took off his

Summary

• Bandages, his glasses and his hat. Now, he looked helpless. People were horrified. Griffin hit the policeman. He got free and ran away.

Story in brief• Two boys saw fresh footprints of an invisible man in the

streets of London. These footprints were of a lawless scientist named Griffin.

• He discovered a rare drug, which could make him invisible. His landlord disliked him and tried to reject him.

• In revenge Griffin set fire to the house. He swallowed drug and removed his clothes to become invisible.

• He was a homeless wanderer- until he happened to step in some mud, and left footprints as he walked! He escaped easily enough from the boys who followed the footprints.

Story in brief• He wandered in the streets of London. He faced cold

weather and felt the need of clothes and food. • He slipped inside a big London store for warmth. He fitted

himself out with warm clothes. soon, with shoes, an overcoat and a wide- brimmed hat, he became a fully dressed and visible person.

• In the kitchen of the restaurant he enjoyed the meal. He fell asleep on the pile of quilts.

• He woke up late in the morning. The store attendants gave him a chase but he made himself free by removing his clothes.

• Then he entered a theatrical company where he dressed up again and looted some money from the shopkeeper.

Story in brief• He wanted to live freely without any disturbance. So he

caught a train to Iping village and hired a room at the inn.• The money of the loot did not last long and he again had to

rob a clergyman of his money. After some time Mr. and Mrs. Hall visited his room when they found the door of the room opened.

• They found nobody inside. But the chair and other things in the room become alive. The hat lying on the bedpost leapt up and dashed itself into the face of the landlady.

• Then the bedroom chair became alive and it pushed the inn keeper and his wife out of the room.

Story in brief• Mrs. Hall almost fell down the stairs in hysterics. She

thought that it was matter of witchcraft. She was convinced that the room was haunted by sprits and the stranger had somehow caused these to enter into her furniture.

• By the time the news of robbery spread and everybody suspected the scientist. The suspicion grew stronger when he produced ready cash whereas he had accepted some time before that he had a money.

• The village constable was sent for. Instead of waiting for the constable Mrs. Hall went to the scientist and asked how he came out of an empty room and how he entered a locked room. The eccentric scientist lost his temper when he faced questions from Mrs. Hall.

Story in brief• He threw off the bandages, spectacles and false nose. This

made his head invisible. • When the constable, Mr. Jaffers reached there, he saw that

he had to arrest a headless man. He tried to get hold of him but Griffin outsmarted him by throwing away his clothes again.

• He became invisible and knocked down the constable out of senses. the people who tried to help the constable received the blows nowhere. Thus he again escaped from the scene unnoticed.