Herbert George Wells "The Croquet Player"

Author: H. G. Wells Title: The Croquet Player Original title: The Croquet Player Genre: novel Medical theme: delusions of persecution Year of first publication: 1937 (worldwide), 1938 (Poland) Description: Although "The Croquet Player" is an exceptionally short novel by Herbert G. Wells, it is not easy to grasp and allows for multiple interpretations. We read about a young man in his thirties who shuns all the dangers of the world, complex issues, and the hardships of life, choosing to play croquet and solve crossword puzzles as his favorite pastimes. One day, on a hotel terrace, he meets a nervous doctor leafing through books, with whom he engages in a long discussion. The doctor recounts the beginnings of his practice in a small town called Cainsmarsh, situated in a marshy area. He had fled there, fed up with life in big-city London and the high-pressure work at the city hospital. Expecting peace and the slow pace of rural life, he gradually began to discover that inexplicable things were happening to the locals: here, a woman, frightened by a shadow in the corner of the room, hurls an alarm clock at him; a hunter chasing hares stares strangely at a scarecrow, then reaches for his shotgun and fires at it; by the roadside, one can find battered animals. In this small community, suicides and inexplicable beatings are becoming increasingly common, and the food is starting to taste suspiciously strange. The local vicar does not trust the people, who are stuffing themselves with malaria medication, and he is also opposed to archaeological work on this land, where cemeteries once stood. A psychiatrist joins the young man’s discussion with the doctor, and his perspective helps shed light on the mysterious events from a different angle.