The Bulpington of Blup - Misplaced Pages

1932 novel by H. G. Wells

The Bulpington of Blup
First edition
Author	H. G. Wells
Original title	The Bulpington of Blup: Adventures, Poses, Stresses, Conflicts, and Disaster in a Contemporary Brain
Illustrator	George Picken
Language	English
Publisher	Hutchinson & Co.
Publication date	1932
Publication place	United Kingdom
Pages	414

The Bulpington of Blup is a 1932 novel by H. G. Wells. It is a character study analyzing the psychological sources of resistance to Wellsian ideology, and was influenced by Wells's acquaintance with Carl Gustav Jung and his ideas.

The inner life of the protagonist, Theodore Bulpington, is dominated by a complex he calls "The Bulpington of Blup." This self-regarding, romantic, heroic personality comes over time to dominate his existence, falsifying his relations with the world. Theodore Bulpington develops into a pretentious fraud who finally affirms a modus vivendi of falsehood: "I am a lie. I accept it. I am a liar in a world of lies." The novel is also of interest for its extended analysis of psychological responses to World War I.

The life of Ford Madox Ford inspired some aspects of the novel. The Bulpington of Blup is dedicated to Odette Keun, Wells's lover from 1924 to 1933.

Like Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island and The Autocracy of Mr. Parham, The Bulpington of Blup did not sell as well as Wells's earlier novels; these are now among his "least read books," according to biographer David Smith. Wells believed that the novel was as good as Kipps, but critics have not shared this view.

Censorship

The Bulpington of Blup contains several sexual scenes, and also contains passages critical of the Roman Catholic Church. For these reasons, the book was banned in both the Irish Free State and Francoist Spain.

References

H.G. Wells, The Bulpington of Blup (New York: Macmillan, 1933), p. 408.
H.G. Wells, The Bulpington of Blup (New York: Macmillan, 1933), Ch. 6 & 7.
Michael Sherborne, H.G. Wells: Another Kind of Life (Peter Owen, 2010), p. 303.
David C. Smith, H.G. Wells: Desperately Mortal: A Biography (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1986), pp. 297-302.
Michael Sherborne, H.G. Wells: Another Kind of Life (Peter Owen, 2010), p. 303.
"Books Banned In Ireland:Australian Authors And H. G. Wells".The Sun 15 July 1937.
Patrick Parrinder and John S. Partington, The reception of H.G. Wells in Europe. London : Thoemmes continuum, 2005. ISBN 9780826462534 (p.251)

v t e H. G. Wells
Bibliography
Novels	The Time Machine (1895) The Wonderful Visit (1895) The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896) The Wheels of Chance (1896) The Invisible Man (1897) The War of the Worlds (1898) When the Sleeper Wakes (1899) Love and Mr Lewisham (1900) The First Men in the Moon (1901) The Sea Lady (1902) The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth (1904) Kipps (1905) A Modern Utopia (1905) In the Days of the Comet (1906) The War in the Air (1908) Tono-Bungay (1909) Ann Veronica (1909) The History of Mr Polly (1910) The Sleeper Awakes (1910) The New Machiavelli (1911) Marriage (1912) The Passionate Friends (1913) The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman (1914) The World Set Free (1914) Bealby (1915) Boon (1915) The Research Magnificent (1915) Mr. Britling Sees It Through (1916) The Soul of a Bishop (1917) Joan and Peter (1918) The Undying Fire (1919) The Secret Places of the Heart (1922) Men Like Gods (1923) The Dream (1924) Christina Alberta's Father (1925) The World of William Clissold (1926) Meanwhile (1927) Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island (1928) The Autocracy of Mr. Parham (1930) The Bulpington of Blup (1932) The Shape of Things to Come (1933) The Croquet Player (1936) Brynhild (1937) Star Begotten (1937) The Camford Visitation (1937) Apropos of Dolores (1938) The Brothers (1938) The Holy Terror (1939) Babes in the Darkling Wood (1940) All Aboard for Ararat (1940) You Can't Be Too Careful (1941)
Nonfiction	Anticipations Certain Personal Matters Crux Ansata The Discovery of the Future An Englishman Looks at the World Experiment in Autobiography The Fate of Man First and Last Things Floor Games The Future in America God the Invisible King In the Fourth Year Little Wars Mankind in the Making Mind at the End of Its Tether Mr. Belloc Objects to "The Outline of History" The New America The New World Order New Worlds for Old The Open Conspiracy The Outline of History Russia in the Shadows The Science of Life A Short History of the World The Story of a Great Schoolmaster This Misery of Boots Travels of a Republican Radical in Search of Hot Water War and the Future The Way the World Is Going The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind World Brain A Year of Prophesying
Collections	The Country of the Blind and Other Stories The Plattner Story and Others Select Conversations with an Uncle The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents Tales of Space and Time Twelve Stories and a Dream
Short stories	"Æpyornis Island" "The Argonauts of the Air" "The Beautiful Suit" "The Chronic Argonauts" "The Cone" "The Country of the Blind" "The Crystal Egg" "A Deal in Ostriches" "The Diamond Maker" "The Door in the Wall" "A Dream of Armageddon" "The Empire of the Ants" "In the Abyss" "The Land Ironclads" "Mr. Ledbetter's Vacation" "The Lord of the Dynamos" "The Man Who Could Work Miracles" "The New Accelerator" "The Pearl of Love" "The Plattner Story" "The Queer Story of Brownlow's Newspaper" "The Red Room" "The Sea Raiders" "The Star" "The Stolen Body" "A Story of the Days to Come" "A Story of the Stone Age" "Triumphs of a Taxidermist" "The Truth About Pyecraft" "A Vision of Judgment"
Screenplays	Things to Come (1936) The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1937)
Related	Political views G. P. Wells Anthony West (son) Joseph Wells (father) Simon Wells (great-grandson) H. G. Wells Society Lunar crater Time After Time (1979 film)

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