Mr Britling might have seen it through, but I just couldn't. This novel started out fairly interesting, but got bogged down about the time Wells thought he could write a detailed account of a field hockey game and still hold the reader's interest. He couldn't. After that, there was a good bit of narration about Mr Britling's love affairs and his thoughts about the impending European conflict. I just couldn't do it. It wasn't the least bit interesting with regard either to history or the character. Pity: I've never given up on Wells before. ( )

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/mr-britling-sees-it-through-by-h-g-wells/

I had no expectations whatsoever of this novel, originally published in 1916, one of the last of the novels in my big H.G. Wells collection. I found it a really impressive work, one of the best non-sf novels by Wells that I have read. Mr Britling is a self-parody of the author, a complacent intellectual writer with a nice place in the country, extended family around him and a lover in London. In 1914 he thinks that war is impossible, and if it comes it will be brief because sensible people of all countries will reject it. It turns out that he is wrong, and his world diminishes through loss and tragedy. I like Wells all the more for putting such a flawed version of himself front and centre; Britling is a very imperfect human being, but his tragedy is discovering that the imperfections of the world he lives in are much worse than he had imagined. There are some nice and respectful bits with Belgian refugees as well. ( )

Autobiographical novel in which Wells details the shattering impact of WWI on his idealistic worldview. It's too long, especially in the first, pre-war, part, as Wells wastes a lot of words on the POV of a visitor from America who subsequently recedes from the plot. It's disorganised and rambling — much of this book is Wells thinking out loud, deliberating with himself in his elastic, scattershot way as he seeks to understand the war he and virtually all his associates never thought could happen. But its strengths are its immediacy — it was published in 1916 and the uncertainty regarding the progress and outcome of the war is palpable — and, especially, its emotional core as the title character (aka Wells) processes his grief at the death of his young son, Hugh, in action. Hugh's letters home from the trenches, presumably quoted from or based on originals, are as moving as that kind of primary source tends to be. It adds up to an interesting contemporary indictment of the war, of all war, and those who aid and abet it. ( )

This is a a wonderful jumble - part domestic novel, part philosphy, part rather profound musings on war and peace. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am now a little in love with HGW, like, it seems, many women before me. ( )

This is a surprisingly powerful novel, but not one with aliens or fantastic machines or representations of utopian futures, which are the things for which H.G. Wells is most noted. This is not that kind of book. There isn’t a driving plot that requires resolution. It falls firmly into the ‘literary’ genre, exploring how people react to events that threaten to change their view of the world. The event, of course, is World War I, and the story is a personal and very human account of the war’s first years, not from one of the combatants, but from a father who provides a broader yet still intimate perspective. When it was published in 1916, it would be considered contemporary fiction. Now, it might be seen as historical fiction.
The first quarter of the book sets a scene of tranquil Essex in 1914, relatively untainted by the hustle and bustle of nearby London or by the changes going on throughout the rest of the world. The main character, Mr. Britling, is a fairly well known writer of essays and articles. He is an optimist. He believes in reason and in humanity’s ability to exercise good judgment. His worldview is about to be challenged. (I got the distinct impression that much of Mr. Britling was an autobiographical representation of Mr. Wells.)
As fiction, this book humanizes the experience of WWI in a way that history cannot. It shows the initial disbelief, denial, outrage, grief, and attempts at rationalization that Mr. Britling experiences. It comments on politics, ideology, religion, and the stupidity and waste of war from the perspective of a person detached enough to observe it rationally while involved enough to experience it emotionally. It’s a powerful combination. It stimulates the readers’ minds as well as their feelings.
I won’t summarize the story. Others have done that. If you wish, you can view the Wikipedia entry. One overriding theme of the book is how the characters perform mental gymnastics to adjust the reality of the war with their understanding of the world. Mr. Britling observes that the war is incompatible with the idea of God promoted by the Church, so he imagines a different one, which still allows him to retain his optimism about humanity. In this way, he carries on. He sees it through.
I can’t honestly recommend this book for everyone, but I would suggest it to fans of H.G. Wells and those with an interest in WWI. I enjoyed it immensely.
( )