The Plattner Story and Others

The second Spoken Ink collection of superb short stories by H. G. Wells, who was a master of the form. Humour and wit abound in his writing, as does sharp social observation. Among the 17 stories in this collection, The Plattner Story tells of a chemistry teacher who analyses a most unusual powder one of the boys brings to class, in The Cone a woman married to a bullying industrialist is having an affair with his young friend.

Her jealous husband gives the lover a tour of the steel furnaces he is so proud of. The Sad Story of the Dramatic Critic is in fact fall-off-your chair hilarious, especially as read by Mike Grady, as well-known and cherished as Thora Hird's son-in-law Barry Wilkinson in Last of the Summer Wine. Truly poignant stories of love are The Jilting of Jane and A Slip under the Microscope.