Back to entry: hammond_j_r | Show links black
Hammond, J R
(1933-2018) UK academic and author, founder of The H G Wells Society in 1960, associated with Nottingham Trent University 1991-1999; he is best known for his numerous studies and reader-guides to the life and work of H G Wells, the first volume of general interest being An H G Wells Companion: A Guide to the Novels, Romances and Short Stories (1979). In the twenty-first century, as Wells studies become more and more dauntingly intense and/or specialized, Hammond's guides may seem antiquated to institutional scholars precisely because they are companionable. His almost invariably positive take on Wells can, moreover, raise some doubts over Hammond's willingness to deal with some challenges of interpretation, in particular as regards the huge mass of nonfiction after 1920. But a tendency to provide sympathetic overviews, now as much as ever, is welcome. In any case, potential problems of focus are less in evidence in Hammond's companions to other authors, who include James Hilton, George Orwell, Edgar Allan Poe and Robert Louis Stevenson [for titles see Checklist below]. In these volumes, he is clearly revealed as a wise and trustworthy guide. [JC]
John Richard Hammond
born Nottingham, Nottinghamshire: 28 March 1933
died Nottingham, Nottinghamshire: 20 September 2018
works
- H G Wells: A Comprehensive Bibliography (London: H G Wells Society, 1966) with Patrick Parrinder, A H Watkins and The H G Wells Society [nonfiction: bibliography: chap: frequently emended: 1968, 1972, 1986: H G Wells: hb/]
- Herbert George Wells: An Annotated Bibliography of his Works (New York: Garland Publishing, 1977) [nonfiction: bibliography: H G Wells: in the publisher's Garland Reference Library of the Humanities series: hb/nonpictorial]
- An H G Wells Companion: A Guide to the Novels, Romances and Short Stories (London: Macmillan, 1979) [nonfiction: H G Wells: hb/various sources]
- An Edgar Allan Poe Companion: A Guide to the Short Stories, Romances, and Essays (Totwa, New Jersey: Barnes and Noble Books, 1981) [nonfiction: Edgar Allan Poe: hb/]
- A George Orwell Companion: A Guide to the Novels, Documentaries, and Essays (New York: St Martin's Press, 1982) [nonfiction: George Orwell: hb/]
- A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion: A Guide to the Novels, Essays, and Short Stories (London: Macmillan, 1984) [nonfiction: Robert Louis Stevenson: hb/]
- H G Wells and the Modern World (London: Macmillan, 1988) [nonfiction: H G Wells: hb/uncredited]
- H G Wells and Rebecca West (London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1991) [nonfiction: H G Wells: hb/]
- H G Wells and the Short Story (Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 1992) [nonfiction: H G Wells: hb/]
- An H G Wells Chronology (Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 1999) [nonfiction: H G Wells: hb/]
- A Preface to H G Wells (London: Longman, 2001) [nonfiction: H G Wells: hb/]
- H G Wells's The Time Machine: A Reference Guide (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2004) as John R Hammond [nonfiction: H G Wells: hb/]
- The Lost Horizon Companion: A Guide to the James Hilton Novel and its Characters, Critical Reception, Film Adaptations and Place in Popular Culture (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2001) [nonfiction: James Hilton: pb/]
works as editor
- H G Wells: Interviews and Recollections (London: Macmillan, 1980) [nonfiction: anth: H G Wells: hb/]
- H G Wells. The Complete Stories of H G Wells (London: J M Dent and Co, 1998) [coll: hb/]
links
Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2011-current) edited by John Clute and David Langford.
Accessed 04:45 am on 23 January 2025.
<https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/hammond_j_r>