Periodicity, Time Travel, and the Emergence of Science Fiction: H. G. Wells's Temporal Adventures in the Pages of the New Review

The field of periodical studies has highlighted the value of studying novels in their original serialized incarnations. This understanding, however, is seldom applied to science fiction texts, despite the fact that the genre's historical and formal relationship with periodicals is of considerable depth and interest. Periodicals and science fiction have always worked well together, and this article suggests a reason: both have a similar (and central) relationship with time. I turn to one of the most famous early science fiction texts, H. G. Wells's The Time Machine, reading it in its original periodical context to explore its temporal relationship with the magazine.