Footprints Without Feet by H.G. Wells
Quick answer: Footprints Without Feet by H.G. Wells, Class 10 Footprints: summary with the ending, Griffin in London and Iping, Mrs Hall and Jaffers, science without conscience, exam notes.
Two boys in London stare at muddy footprints appearing on a doorstep with no feet to make them, and follow the prints until they fade. Footprints Without Feet, fifth in Class 10 Footprints Without Feet and the source of the book's name, is an adapted episode from H.G. Wells's 1897 novel The Invisible Man.
The story in brief
The footprints belong to Griffin, a scientist who has discovered how to make the body transparent. He has just burned his landlord's house in revenge and fled without clothes into a London winter. He slips into a department store, dresses from the stock, eats cold meat and sweets, drinks wine and sleeps on quilts. Found by assistants in the morning, he escapes only by tearing off the clothes. He then robs a theatrical shop in Drury Lane, emerging bandaged, with dark glasses, a false nose and a large hat, after knocking down the shopkeeper.
He takes a train to Iping and books two rooms at Mrs Hall's inn, paying in advance. When his money runs out, a burglary at the clergyman's house, where the couple hear a sneeze and see no thief, points suspicion at him. Mrs Hall finds his room empty, and the furniture rises and attacks her. The constable Jaffers tries to arrest a headless man; Griffin throws off his clothes, vanishes, knocks Jaffers unconscious and walks free.
The characters
Themes and meaning
Exams ask whether Griffin is genius or criminal, and for science misused; talent without restraint becomes tyranny. The sharper observation is that invisibility gives Griffin almost nothing he wants. He is cold, hungry, naked in winter and hiding, and every use of his discovery is petty theft. Power without accountability is squalid, not glorious.
The craft
The opening is the turn: footprints without feet, a mystery given before its explanation, so Griffin's history arrives as answer rather than exposition. The set pieces escalate in visibility, store, shop, village, and the ending leaves Griffin loose, a threat rather than a resolution. Wells makes an impossible premise concrete through cold, hunger and the trouble of clothes.
For the exam
Summary in 100 words: Griffin, a scientist who has discovered how to become invisible, burns his landlord's house and flees naked into the London winter. He shelters in a department store, dressing and feeding himself from the stock, but is discovered and has to strip and escape. He robs a Drury Lane costume shop, disguises his face with bandages and glasses, and travels to the village of Iping. At Mrs Hall's inn his odd behaviour and a burglary at the clergyman's house arouse suspicion. When the constable Jaffers tries to arrest him, Griffin throws off his clothes and knocks Jaffers unconscious, escaping unseen.
What writers can take from this
- Give the sequence of places in order: London street, department store, Drury Lane, Iping.
- Answer the genius-or-criminal question with both, then take a side using the arson and the assault on Jaffers.
- Mention that the chapter is adapted from The Invisible Man, 1897.
- Writers: open with the mystery and let backstory arrive as explanation.
- Make a fantastic power costly in concrete ways such as cold, hunger and clothes.
Try it yourself
Write a story that opens with an impossible physical trace, a mark, sound or smell with no visible cause, and reveal the cause as a person whose extraordinary ability makes their life worse in ordinary, bodily ways.
Questions
Why did Griffin become invisible and what did he do in London?
He had discovered how to make the body transparent. After burning his landlord's house he fled naked, hid in a department store to eat and dress, escaped when found, and robbed a theatrical shop in Drury Lane for a disguise.
What happened at the inn in Iping?
Griffin stayed at Mrs Hall's inn disguised in bandages. When his money ran out and a burglary occurred nearby, suspicion fell on him. The furniture attacked Mrs Hall, and Griffin knocked out the constable Jaffers before escaping.
What is the theme of Footprints Without Feet?
Scientific brilliance without moral responsibility becomes destructive. Griffin's invisibility, a great discovery, is used only for revenge, theft and violence.
By the Writory editorial team, reviewed by working writers. Updated September 2026.
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