This three-volume set by H G Wells is titled The World of William Clissold and is the deluxe edition that was signed by Wells and limited to just 198 sets printed for sale, which makes this a rare set indeed.  

Size: 7 7/8 x 5 1/2 x 1 in.

The first volume is 1/4 bound, with a white spine, green boards, gilt lettering and gilt decorations on the spine, a gilt decorated cover, as are the other volumes, then blank endpapers, “A Note Before The Title Page” (i - viii), a list of novels written by Wells, the half-title, a blank page, the title page, the limitation page, a page dedicated to Odette Keun (xiii), a Contents page, the title page says the set was published by Ernest Benn in 1926, the last page of text says the set was printed by Billing and Sons in Guildford and Esher, and the top edges are gilt.  

The limitation page says “Of this edition deluxe of The World of William Clissold, 198 sets only have been printed for sale and 20 sets only for presentation. The first volume in each set is signed by the author”, and the limitation page is indeed signed by H G Wells.  

H G Wells (1866 - 1946) was an English writer who wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories and his science fiction novels are so well regarded that he has been called the "father of science fiction”. A futurist, he wrote a number of utopian works and foresaw the advent of aircraft, tanks, space travel, nuclear weapons, satellite television and something resembling a world wide web. His science fiction imagined time travel, alien invasion, invisibility and biological engineering before these subjects were common; he wrote The Time Machine (1895), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898), which was turned into a movie starring Tom Cruise, and he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times. 

Each volume here is dedicated to Odette Keun, Wells's lover from 1924 to 1933. Odette Keun (1888 - 1978) was a Dutch socialist, journalist and writer; Wells was 22 years older than she was and he dedicated this book and The Bulpington of Blup to her. 

William Clissold is a fictitious character, according to the Notes at the beginning of the first volume, yet there are elements of self-projection in it, according to Wells’s Notes too.   

In "Book the First: The Frame of the Picture" William Clissold describes his general worldview, describing his loss of religious faith and view of human life as "The Adventure of Mankind”. “Book the Second: The Story of the Clissolds - My Father and the Flow of Things" recounts the upbringing of William and his brother Dickon, which was violently disrupted by the suicide of their businessman father, Richard Clissold, after he was convicted and sentenced to prison for fraud. “Book the Third: The Story of the Clissolds - Essence of Dickon" tells the story of his brother's family life and career in advertising, and includes extensive commentary on the importance of World War I. “Book the Fourth: The Story of the Clissolds - Tangle of Desires" focuses on William’s love life, telling the story of his unsuccessful marriage to Clara and his affairs with Sirrie Evans and Helen, a famous actress, and culminates in his meeting Clementina, a young Scotch-Greek woman who becomes the final love of his life. (This is probably more about his love life with Odette Keun than anything else.) ”Book the Fifth: The Story of the Clissolds - The Next Phase" is almost exclusively about a worldwide "conspiracy"  of business leaders, politicians, scientists, and intellectuals to establish a "World Republic" devoted to the betterment of human life (a big notion in Wells's later life that is developed at length here for the first time). "Book the Sixth: The Story of the Clissolds - Venus as Evening Star" is an extended analysis of the relations between men and women and culminates in his decision to marry Clementina. But in the epilogue, William and Clementina die in an automobile accident a few days later, which prevents the realization of William Clissold's plans. 

The World of William Clissold is H G Wells's longest novel, and it is a “complete full-dress novel”, in the author’s own words, in which William Clissold, aged 59, looks back on the philosophies, religions and social systems he encountered in life, and he shares his thoughts  on bringing order to the world. 

The volumes measure 7 7/8 x 5 1/2 inches wide and are in great condition, with tight bindings and clean pages and text. There are slight marks on the edges of the spines, probably from being housed in dark slipcases, faint shadows on just a couple of endpapers in the whole set, and the rest of the pages are very clean and bright. The first two volumes are superb and the third volume has a pull at the top of the spine, slight bumps in the corners, and two small bubbles along the edge of the front cover. The slipcases for the second and third volumes have light wear in the corners and the slipcase of the first volume has to be repaired at the top, but that doesn’t affect the book at all, and an exceptional set of a rare title signed by Wells.  

We found only two sets of this title in the deluxe edition listed online, one for $2300 and the other for $2500, and we’ve made the opening price low to get the bidding going.  

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