Two of his books were written as children's books, Wood Magic (1881) and Bevis: the story of a Boy (1882), which are regarded as minor classics.
His most famous work, After London (1885) is of the type that could be best described as "post-holocaust science fiction"; after some sudden and unspecified catastrophe has depopulated England, the countryside reverts to nature, and the few survivors to a quasi-medieval way of life. The first chapters consist solely of a loving description of nature reclaiming England: fields becoming overrun by forest, domesticated animals running wild, roads and towns becoming overgrown, the hated London reverting to lake and swampland. The rest of the story is a strauightforward adventure/quest set many years later in the wild landscape and society; but the opening chapters set an example for many later science fiction stories.
not here yet -- marriage, illness, Brighton, other books
He died at Goring-on-Sea, Sussex.
After his death, a number of posthumous collections were made of his writings previously published in neswpapers and magazines, beginning with Field and Hedgerow (1889), edited by his widow. New collections have appeared over the century following his birth, but even now not all have been reprinted in book form.
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