If you visited a paradise, how could return to living in the normal world?

That’s the question which haunts Lionel Wallace in H.G. Wells’ "The Door in the Wall". When he was a child, Lionel found a magical green door. He stepped through it into a sun-dappled garden, inhabited by angelic women and friendly animals. Then suddenly he was cast out, back into reality. For the rest of his life, he longs to find that green door once again.

"The Door in the Wall" has invited countless interpretations over the years—is it about repressed trauma, or missed opportunities, or a fable about industrialisation? Read it to make up your mind.

H.G. Wells (1866–1946) was an English author often called the "father of science fiction". His work popularised some of the genre’s most abiding concepts, such as time travel and parallel universes, while also exploring social issues of the day. Among his most famous books are "The Time Machine", "The Island of Doctor Moreau", "The Invisible Man" and "The First Men in the Moon".

Wells was also one of the first writers to imagine an alien invasion. In "The War of the Worlds" he depicts a devastating attack by Martians, who stalk the earth in huge metal tripods. Orson Welles famously created an American radio version in the 1930s, panicking some listeners who thought it was a real news bulletin. The book has been adapted for the screen many times, including a movie starring Tom Cruise and a BBC television series.