Herbert George Wells's (1866-1946) career as an author was fostered by a childhood mishap. He broke his leg and spent his convalescence reading every book he could find. Wells earned a scholarship at the Norman School of Science in London. Wells's "science fiction" (although he never called it such) was influenced by his interest in biology. H.G. Wells gained fame with his first novel, The Time Machine (1895). He followed this with The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War Of The Worlds (1898).