Wellss satire on literature, Boon was originally published under the pseudonym Reginald Bliss; a follow-up to the Fabian-savaging The New Machiavelli. It purports, however, to be by the fictional character Reginald Bliss, and for some time after publication Wells denied authorship.
Boon is best known for its part in Wellss debate on the nature of literature with Henry James, who is caricatured in the book. But in Boon Wells also mocks himself, calling into question and ridiculing a notion he held dear that of humanitys collective consciousness.
Among these pieces is the infamous parody of the late style of Henry James, all the more effective for being so distinctive a target. Describing James as the culmination of the superficial type, it is not surprising that the indiscreet, ill-advised content of Boon, as Wells describes it in his Introduction, put a serious strain on the relationship between the two authors.
