The War of the Worlds
H.G. Wells (1898)
“The British Empire discovers what it feels like to be colonized — by a civilization from Mars.”
EraVictorian / Early Sci-Fi
Pages192
Difficulty★★★☆☆ Challenging
AP Appearances2
Character Analysis
Unnamed, educated, analytically minded — a 'philosophical writer' who becomes an accidental war correspondent. His passivity is both a survival strategy and a narrative device: by observing rather than acting, he can describe and interpret the invasion for the reader. His psychological damage — the permanent anxiety, the haunted glances at the sky — suggests that witnessing the collapse of civilization leaves wounds that do not heal.
How They Speak
Educated, analytical, uses Latinate vocabulary and philosophical frameworks. References classical history and scientific concepts casually.