The War of the Worlds – H.G. Wells

We all know the story, but it is rewarding to go back to the source novel. Wells’ obsessive focus on Englishness and the specific locations west of London is striking, cf these two quotes:

“I came through Ockham (for that was the way I returned, not through Send and Old Woking)”

“the tale he told and his appearance were so wild--his hat had fallen off in the pit--that the man simply drove on.”

No hat? Clearly a madman.

The effect is initially comical when contrasted with the catastrophic events being described, but as the horror of the situation increases the local focus pays off.

It’s great fun, and remarkable in its influence, given that it was written in 1899.