Quicklet on H.G. Wells's The War of the Worlds‪ ‬

ABOUT THE BOOK

H.G. Wells’ classic science fiction novel, The War of the Worlds is a timeless story of interplanetary invasion and resistance. First published in 1898, it is arguably the earliest, if not the most well-known, of the early stories of Earth being subjugated by extraterrestrials. Generations of science fiction books, comics, radio, television and film pieces have in one way or another reworked this seminal tale in one way or another.

The most noteworthy example is Orson Welles’ 1938 radio broadcast based on the novel. It created a state of hysteria to many within range of the WABC radio signal on Halloween night as listeners mistook it for a news broadcast rather than a fictional radio play. Welles’ adaptation of the novel set the story in New York rather than Victorian England and used the guise of newsflash reports to intensify the dramatic, seemingly real perception that the country was indeed being invaded by aliens (War of the Worlds Invasion: The Historical Perspective, War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast (1938) Part 1). Films such as Steven Spielberg’s 2005 version have also served to immortalize this seminal story.