Even before West had established her reputation as one of Britain's preeminent journalists and critics, she had few reservations about rattling the literary establishment. In a 1912 review, the young West called the already-lionized H.G. Wells "the Old Maid among novelists"; Wells, in lieu of pouting, invited West to tea. Soon the two embarked on an affair that would produce both a son and soap-operatic drama, the latter of which ended only when West tired of Wells's ego and took off for America.