The Wheels of Chance

A classic novel of bicycles, gallantry, and irrepressible romance. One of H. G. Wells's earliest novels, written before his great successes with The Time Machine and The War of the World, "The Wheels of Chance" is a whimsical romance between a Walter Mitty-like draper's assistant -- one Mr. Hoopdriver -- and the Lady in Grey. The entire story takes place as the characters travel by bicycle through the English countryside, in the brief halcyon era between the invention of the bicycle and the advent of the automobile. The shy Mr. Hoopdriver perceives that the Lady in Grey is being seduced by her supposed protector, and over the course of several days and many miles of cycling, he gallantly comes to her aid. With hilarious descriptions of the early days of cycling, a romping plot of high adventure, and H. G. Wells's long-neglected writing of the finest order, "The Wheels of Chance" will find many happy readers in this automotive age.