The War of the Worlds (1897)

Little green men from Mars…and mean ones at that…

This is the granddaddy of the alien invasion tale, and it has influenced multiple generations of Science Fiction literature since its publication in the late 19th century.  Whatever it was influenced by, be it Verne or some weird sense of Social Darwinism…it has become one of the most popular books of the genre…and has crossed from social commentary to an entertainment icon.  Case in point…numerous film portrayals, reprints in various publications, stage productions, video games, comic books and graphic novels, as well as one very infamous radio drama in 1938. 

Reverberations of The War of the Worlds continue to influence the U.S. Government and its military complex.  As the story goes, the horrifying effect of Orson Welles’ radio dramatization of the story caused such a panic in the general population, that those in power are extremely hesitant (putting it lightly) to admit or confirm any sort of alien contact...hence, the veil of secrecy remains…and remains…and remains…to this very day…if you believe in that sort of thing.

Here is the first book edition printed by in Great Britain by William Heinemann… The War of the Worlds or here… The War of the Worlds

Originally, the story was serialized in 1897 in Pearson’s Magazine for Great Britain, and The Cosmopolitan Magazine here in the United States…these are the true first editions of The War of the Worlds and you can find those here:

Pearson’s Magazine

Volume 3 – January to June – 1897

Part 1 – p.363, Chapters 1-4

Part 2 – p.487, Chapters 5-8

Part 3 – p.599, Chapters 9-11

Volume 4 – July to December – 1897

Part 4 – p.108, Chapters 12-13

Part 5 – p.221, Chapters 14-15

Part 6 – p.329, Chapters 15 (cont.)-16

Part 7 – p.447, Chapters 17-18

Part 8 – p.558, Chapters 19-21

Part 9 – p.736, Chapters 21 (cont.)-22

The Cosmopolitan Magazine

Volume 22 – November 1896 to April 1897

Part 1 – p.615, Chapters 1-5

Volume 23 – May to October – 1897

Part 2 – p.3, Chapters 6-8

Part 3 – p.215, Chapters 9-11

Part 4 – p.251, Chapters 12-13

Part 5 – p.391, Chapters 14-15

Part 6 – p.541, Chapters 15 (cont.)-16

Part 7 – p.601, Chapters 17-19

Volume 24 – November 1897 to April 1898

Part 8 – p.79, Chapters 19 (cont.)-21

Part 9 – p.162, Chapters 21 (cont.)-22

Should you wish to re-live the Orson Welles 1938 Halloween broadcast, you can find that…here