Science fiction · Classics
The Time Machine
A Victorian inventor builds a machine that carries him hundreds of thousands of years into the future. There he finds a gentle, helpless people living above ground and something hungry below it.
Facts last checked 2026-10-16
- First published
- 1895
- Pace
- Fast
- Length
- Short
- Pages
- 144
- Format
- Standalone
Read this if you want the classic time-travel story, brief and still unsettling.
Skip this if you want elaborate paradoxes or deep characters, because the focus is on one idea and a single traveller.
The feel
Content warnings
Quick answers about The Time Machine
- What is The Time Machine about?
- A Victorian inventor builds a machine that carries him hundreds of thousands of years into the future. There he finds a gentle, helpless people living above ground and something hungry below it.
- Who should read The Time Machine?
- Read it if you want the classic time-travel story, brief and still unsettling. Skip it if you want elaborate paradoxes or deep characters, because the focus is on one idea and a single traveller.
- How long and how fast is The Time Machine?
- It is a fast-paced, short read of about 144 pages, first published in 1895.
- Does The Time Machine have content warnings?
- Content we flag: Violence, Death.
- Can I borrow The Time Machine for free?
- Often, yes. Check Libby (OverDrive) to see whether your library lends The Time Machine; the borrow button above searches it for you.
- What should I read after The Time Machine?
- Readers who liked it often move on to The War of the Worlds, The Time Traveler's Wife, Recursion.
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Where to get it
| Store | Price | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Borrow free | ||
| Libby / OverDrive | Free with a library card | Borrow free with Libby from Libby / OverDrive |
| Print, new | ||
| Bookshop.org | Check price | Buy new from Bookshop.org |
| Amazon | Check price | Buy new from Amazon |
| Ebook | ||
| Kobo | Check price | Buy ebook from Kobo |
| Google Play Books | Check price | Buy ebook from Google Play Books |
| Audiobook | ||
| Libro.fm | Check price | Buy audiobook from Libro.fm |
| Audible | Check price | Buy audiobook from Audible |
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Because you might love it
If you loved The Time Machine
-
The War of the Worlds
The author's other short classic, with the same eerie sense of humanity's smallness.
-
The Time Traveler's Wife A very different, romantic and emotional use of time travel that is about love instead of a warning.
-
Recursion A modern thriller that plays with memory and time, with faster twists and a stronger emotional hook.
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