KEY POINTS:
Winston Churchill was a closet science-fiction fan who borrowed the lines for one of his most famous speeches from HG Wells, research shows.
Dr Richard Toye, a history lecturer at Cambridge University, found that the phrase "The Gathering Storm" - used by Churchill to depict the rise of
Hitler's Germany - had in fact been conjured up by Wells decades earlier in The War of The Worlds, which depicts an attack on Britain by Martians.
Dr Toye also identified similarities between a speech Churchill made 100 years ago and Wells' book A Modern Utopia, published in 1905.
Tellingly, two days before Churchill delivered the speech in Glasgow on October 9, 1906, he had written to Wells to enthuse about the book, saying: "I owe you a great debt."
"It's a bit like Tony Blair borrowing phrases from Star Trek or Doctor Who," Dr Toye said.
He made the discoveries while researching a book on Churchill and identified several points at which he appeared to use Wells' ideas.
"People look at politicians in the 20th century and presume their influences were big theorists and philosophers," Dr Toye said. "What we forget is that Churchill and others were probably not interested in reading that stuff when they got home after a hard day in the House of Commons. They wanted to read a book that was full of ideas but was also going to be fun. HG Wells was perfect for that.
"Churchill was a closet science-fiction fan. In fact, one of his criticisms of A Modern Utopia was that there was too much thought-provoking stuff and not enough action."
Dr Toye believes Wells was an important intellectual influence on Churchill during the formative period of his career. In 1901, having already written some of his best-known works, including The Time Machine, Wells wrote Anticipations - a book of predictions calling for the establishment of a scientifically organised New Republic.
His publishers sent a copy to Churchill and he wrote to the author saying "I read everything you write" and that he agreed with many of his ideas.
Churchill and Wells first met in 1902 and kept in touch until Wells' death in 1946.
Wells wrote A Modern Utopia in 1905 as an attempted update of Thomas More's Utopia, a fount of radical ideas such as the state should provide basic support to ordinary citizens.
After reading the book in 1906, Churchill, then a junior minister in the colonial office, said in his Glasgow speech that the state should support its "left-out millions". Historians now regard this as a landmark speech of Churchill's career.
- INDEPENDENT
