War of the Worlds
H.G. Wells, author of such science fiction classics as The Invisible Man, The Island of Doctor Moreau, and The Time Machine, wrote The War of the Worlds supposedly after considering the impact European explorers had on indigenous peoples in Tasmania. “As Mars becomes uninhabitable, its inhabitants, Martians, invade the earth.” Wells’s story, one of the earliest to pit extraterrestrials against earthlings, was begun in 1895 and features aliens who arrive on cylindrical spaceships. A 2005 film adaptation of this novel starred Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning.
Wells, who was born and raised in London, was a prolific author who published short stories, novels, and non-fiction works on topics ranging from popular science to social history to politics.
H.G. (Herbert George) Wells (1866-1946).
The War of the Worlds. London: William Heinemann, 1898.
Lehigh University Catalog Record: https://asa.lib.lehigh.edu/asa/Record/257835
A version of this text has been digitized and is available through the Internet Archive.