1905–9: Noises Off—H. G. Wells Among the Fabians. Votes for Women!

Abstract

The Fabians invited the highly popular author and futurist H. G. Wells to join the Society, feeling that it needed a new direction. Wells, however, fomented a revolution against his friends known as the Old Gang. With some difficulty, Shaw prevented the Wells takeover, but Wells nevertheless had a big impact on the plans of both the Webbs and Shaws, including the Webbs’ anti-poverty campaigns after 1909. At the same time, the Votes for Women campaign reached a crescendo, with the political and economic position of women the key social question of the day. Shaw had actively supported women’s political rights since the 1890s, which was a key part of Shaw’s insistence on economic equality generally.