Herbert George Wells (1866—1946) was an English writer. He was prolific in many genres, writing doz-ens of novels, short stories, and works of social commentary, but he is now best remembered for his science fiction novels. "The Sea Lady" is a fantasy novel that has some of the aspects of a fable. The story involves a mermaid who comes ashore on the southern coast of England. Feigning a desire to become part of noble society, the mermaid's real design is to seduce Harry Chatteris, a man she saw some years ago in the South Seas.