The First Men in the Moon
Complete textBedford, seeking a quieter setting for work, meets the eccentric scientist Cavor and becomes involved in experiments with a material that resists gravity. Their partnership leads toward the Moon, where commercial hopes and scientific curiosity confront a world neither man has prepared to understand.
Continue readingAbout The First Men in the Moon
Bedford recounts the adventure with the impatience of someone repeatedly pulled beyond his intentions. His practical ambitions contrast with Cavor's appetite for knowledge, but both depend on assumptions formed on Earth. Their disagreements make unfamiliar surroundings an ongoing test of what each considers valuable, reasonable or worth the risk.
Reading focus
Compare Bedford's commercial instincts with Cavor's scientific curiosity as their discoveries outgrow the original experiment.
This reading edition contains 68,476 words in 26 original sections. Read the text online with adjustable type and three colour themes, or keep a printable PDF.
Author: HG Wells. Language: English. Reading edition: 28 October 2026.
Opening excerpt
As I sit down to write here amidst the shadows of vine-leaves under the blue sky of southern Italy, it comes to me with a certain quality of astonishment that my participation in these amazing adventures of Mr. Cavor was, after all, the outcome of the purest accident. It might have been any one. I fell into these things at a time when I thought myself removed from the slightest possibility of disturbing experiences. I had gone to Lympne because I had imagined it the most uneventful place in the world. “Here, at any rate,” said I, “I shall find peace and a chance to work!”
Contents
All sections- I. Mr. Bedford Meets Mr. Cavor at Lympne25 min
- II. The First Making of Cavorite12 min
- III. The Building of the sphere12 min
- IV. Inside the Sphere6 min
- V. The Journey to the Moon9 min
- VI. The Landing on the Moon7 min
- VII. Sunrise on the Moon8 min
- VIII. A Lunar Morning6 min
- IX. Prospecting Begins14 min
- X. Lost Men in the Moon7 min
- XI. The Mooncalf Pastures16 min
- XII. The Selenite’s Face7 min
- XIII. Mr. Cavor Makes Some Suggestions10 min
- XIV. Experiments in intercourse9 min
- XV. The Giddy Bridge16 min
- XVI. Points of View12 min
- XVII. The Fight in the Cave of the Moon Butchers16 min
- XVIII. In the Sunlight14 min
- XIX. Mr. Bedford Alone17 min
- XX. Mr. Bedford in Infinite Space12 min
- XXI. Mr. Bedford at Littlestone22 min
- XXII. The Astonishing Communication of Mr. Julius Wendigee6 min
- XXIII. An Abstract of the Six Messages First Received from Mr. Cavor12 min
- XXIV. The Natural History of the Selenites25 min
- XXV. The Grand Lunar23 min
- XXVI. The Last Message Cavor sent to the Earth3 min
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This edition contains the complete English literary text, with 26 sections and 68,476 words. This reading edition preserves the checked English text and its section order. No study notes have been added.
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