Published in 1905, Twelve Stories and a Dream contains stories written by Wells between 1897 and 1903. Among them are "The Magic Shop," "Mr. Skelmersdale in Fairyland," "Jimmy Goggles the God," and "Mr. Ledbetter's Vacation," whose virtuous main character gives in to his criminal instincts and ends up on the other side of the world. The "Dream" of the volume's title is Wells's famous futuristic, anti-war story "A Dream of Armageddon."