Meanwhile or The Picture of a Lady Author:H. G. Wells 1927. One day about the time of the general strike in England, Mr. Wells visited the celebrated garden of La Mortola near Ventimiglia. As he wandered about the lovely place, he passed by an unknown lady sitting and reading in a shady corner. Her pose reminded Wells of another little lady who was always very dear to him. He did not know who she w... more »as and never saw her again. Mr. Wells went on his way to the beach and mused on things that were happening in England and Italy and the world at large, when that remembered lady mingled with his thoughts and this story very much as he shaped it here presented itself suddenly to his imagination. It jumped into existence. All at once it was alive, so he went home and began to write.« less