The War of the Worlds
The War of the worlds: first edition of this science fiction cornerstone.
A fine copy preserved in publisher’s cloth complete with the publisher’s catalog.
8vo of VIII, 303 pp., 16 pp.
Publisher’s grey cloth lettered in black.
188 x 127 mm.
Wells, H. G. The War of the Worlds.
London, William Heinemann, 1898.
First edition of this science fiction cornerstone.
With 6 pages publisher’s advertisements at end dated Autumn 1897.
"The War of the Worlds is a tour de force whose innumerable fictional offspring include numerous adaptations and homages, by far the most effective of which was Orson Welles Mercury Theater radio broadcast of 1938" (Anatomy of Wonder II-1234).
“A penetrating novel of ideas dressed in a thrilling story of experiment gone awry” (Jams Mustich, A life-changing list, 1000 books to read before you die).
Wells semble se plaire particulièrement à nous faire frissonner. L’atmosphère du livre, en dépit de la défaite finale des martiens, est plutôt pessimiste : nous n’avons pas grand-chose à attendre de la science – plutôt de nouveaux dangers, des catastrophes mondiales que des améliorations de notre existence. Ces horreurs futures sont décrites par l’auteur avec une rigoureuse précision. Peut-être aussi y-a-t-il chez Wells une certaine satisfaction à faire peur, à assouvir, par l’entremise de la fiction romanesque, sa rancune contre la société victorienne si sûre de sa force et de sa tranquillité.
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.
Early one morning, a “falling star” appears over England. It crashes... The narrator gets a glimpse of the Martian…
The initial critical reception for the novel was favourable. Nineteenth-century critics and readers alike marveled at the grandeur of Wells’s vision, and the novel was a tremendous commercial success. Within five years of its publication, it had been translated into 10 languages. Wells’s novel has been in continuous print since its first publication as a novel in 1898.
A fine copy preserved in publisher’s cloth complete with the publisher’s catalog.
