This early work by H G Wells was originally published in 1903 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography as part of our Cryptofiction Classics series The Valley of the Spiders is a short story about a group of men who encounter an unstoppable swarm of arachnids Herbert George Wells was born in Bromley England in 1866 He apprenticed as a draper before becoming a pupilteacher at Midhurst Grammar School in West Sussex Some years later Wells won a scholarship to the School of Science in London where he developed a strong interest in biology and evolution founding and editing the Science Schools Journal However he left before graduating to return to teaching and began to focus increasingly on writing It was in 1895 that Wells seriously established himself as a writer with the publication of the now iconic novel The Time Machine Wells followed The Time Machine with the equally wellreceived War of the Worlds 1898 which proved highly popular in the USA The Cryptofiction Classics series contains a collection of wonderful stories from some of the greatest authors in the genre including Ambrose Bierce Arthur Conan Doyle Robert Louis Stevenson and Jack London From its roots in cryptozoology this genre features bizarre fantastical and often terrifying tales of mythical and legendary creatures Whether it be giant spiders werewolves lake monsters or dinosaurs the Cryptofiction Classics series offers a fantastic introduction to the world of weird creatures in...
