The Food of the Gods

Credits and rights

Original writer

H.G. Wells

Publisher of this edition

BoingyBooks Classics

Original publisher

Project Gutenberg

Adaptation credits

John Shoufler / BoingyBooks Classics — digital edition

Original source / edition

The Food of the Gods (1904)

License

Public Domain

License link

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

Rights and adaptation notice

This work is in the public domain. John Shoufler published this digital edition through BoingyBooks Classics. The original work remains public domain and may be copied, adapted, and shared.

The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth by H.G. Wells (1904)

Two scientists create a substance that causes everything that eats it to grow to enormous size — insects, plants, animals, and eventually children. As the giant children grow up, they clash with a fearful humanity that wants to destroy them.

Historical Significance:
Published in 1904, The Food of the Gods is Wells at his most allegorical. The giant children represent the next stage of human evolution — superior, visionary, and despised by the ordinary-sized people who fear change. Wells was exploring themes that obsessed him throughout his career: the conflict between progress and conservatism, the fear of the new, and the question of whether humanity will embrace or destroy its own future. The novel influenced countless giant-monster stories and remains a powerful metaphor for generational conflict.

This public domain classic was originally published in 1904. Free to read and share.