Abstract
The device of the critical visitant is one which is frequently employed in Wells’s fiction. The angel in The Wonderful Visit, the mermaid in The Sea Lady, the giant children in The Food of the Gods—all these are intruders outside the range of normal human experience who criticise and comment upon earthly institutions. In The Camford Visitation, written at a time (1937) when he was preoccupied with the idea of a world encyclopaedia and educational reform, the critical visitant is a voice devoid of bodily form. In this short tale of 75 pages Wells summarises many of his current preoccupations in the form of a parable which is noteworthy for its careful building up of atmosphere and its lively and biting characterisations.
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© 1979 J. R. Hammond
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Hammond, J.R. (1979). The Camford Visitation. In: An H. G. Wells Companion. Literary Companions. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-04146-6_25
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-04146-6_25
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-04148-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-04146-6
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