The book The Time Machine was a fine book in my opinion. This book consists of five main characters: The Time Traveler (an intelligent man of science and the producer of the time machine), .
Hillyer (the narrator and only man at the dinner who believes the Time Traveler about time travel), Eloi (a peaceful and weak race of people who live on the surface of the Earth in the year 802701), The Morlocks (aggressive ape-like "people" who live underground the same year as the Eloi. They are descendents of the 19th century workers and continue to work underground. They have large eyes that are very sensitive to light. The Eloi are their source of meat), Weena (an Eloi who is friends with the time traveler. She also helps the Time Traveler with occasional sources of information). .
The book starts off in the year 1900 at the time traveler's house. He is having dinner and is occupied by several friends: the Medical Man, the Psychologist, Provincial Mayor, Filby, and a young man. .
At the end of dinner they start off with an argument about dimension. With that argument of dimension and time being in the fourth dimension, the Time Traveler brings up the concept of time travel. His friends thought it was a joke and that time travel is ridiculous. With that in mind, the time traveler steps out of the room and down the hall into his laboratory. He comes back with a small machine about the size of a clock. He placed it on the table and sat near it while the others peered and stared. After explaining the levers and directions, he pulls a lever sending the tiny machine into the future. His friends still didn't believe him and thought it was a trick. Even though they didn't believe him, he still told them about the real time machine in progress. .
The following Thursday his friends, plus a Journalist and Editor, met up at the Time Traveler's home, finding a note to start dinner without him. So they begin to eat.