The Time Machine

Stephen Baxter contributes an introduction to one of the cornerstones of science-fiction literature

At first, the far future looks like an enchanting place to the Time Traveler. The graceful Eloi appear to embody contentment, beauty, and peace, and the Eden they live in seems to be free of suffering. But he soon comes to understand that the Eloi are fragile creatures, desperately afraid of the dark, and with good reason—for the Morlocks live in the dark, and the Morlocks are to be feared. And when his time machine goes missing, the Traveler must venture into their subterranean world to find his way back to his own era.