The War of the Worlds Literary Classics

H.G. Wells, in full Herbert George Wells, (born September 21, 1866, Bromley, Kent, England-died August 13, 1946, London), English novelist, journalist, sociologist, and historian best known for such science fiction novels as The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds and such comic novels as Tono-Bungay and The History of Mr. Polly. The War of the Worlds, science fiction novel by H.G. Wells, first published serially by Pearson's Magazine in the U.K. and by The Cosmopolitan magazine in the U.S. in 1897. The novel details a catastrophic conflict between humans and extraterrestrial "Martians." It is considered a landmark work of science fiction, and it has inspired numerous adaptations and imitations. The War of the Worlds chronicles the events of a Martian invasion as experienced by an unidentified male narrator and his brother. The story begins a few years before the invasion. During the astronomical opposition of 1894, when Mars is closer to Earth than usual, several observatories spot flashes of light on the surface of Mars. The narrator witnesses one of these flashes through a telescope at an observatory in Ottershaw, Surrey, England. He immediately alerts his companion, Ogilvy, "the well-known astronomer." Ogilvy quickly dismisses the idea that the flashes are an indication of life on Mars. He assures the narrator that "[t]he chances against anything manlike on Mars are a million to one." The flashes continue unexplained for several nights. Early one morning, a "falling star" appears over England. It crashes on Horsell Common, a large expanse of public land near the narrator's home in Maybury. When the narrator visits the crash site, he finds a crowd of about 20 people gathered around a large cylindrical object embedded in a sand pit. The object is made of metal, and it appears to be hollow. The narrator immediately suspects that the object came from Mars. After observing it for some time, the narrator returns to his home in Maybury. By the time he next visits the crash site, news of the landing has spread, and the number of spectators has increased significantly.After a second Martian makes its way out of the cylinder, the narrator runs away in terror. While he hides in the woods, a small group of men (including Ogilvy) approach the cylinder with a white flag. As they near the Martians, there is a great flash of light, and the men carrying the flag are instantly incinerated. Several more flashes follow, causing the spectators to scatter. The narrator escapes back to his house, where he tells his wife what he has seen.