To answer the OP's sort-of-maybe 'not even sure if it was a question' question, I was told at school that there is a phenomena referred to as 'fin de siècle' whereby as the end of the century approaches everybody goes a bit doolally and collectively start to dwell on subjects such as impending doom (eg the millennium bug). War of the Worlds, being written at the end of the 19th century, fits nicely into that.
The answer to which, unfortunately, is "no he didn't." It's a myth, largely perpetrated and wildly exaggerated by the press at the time who saw the radio as their competition.
Are you suggesting some kind of Orsonwellian plot?
HG Wells was a prominent Fabian who believed that significant changes to society needed to be made in order for it to survive. Fabians believed in introducing socialist ideas alibeit gradually. Socialism as we understand it today was a relatively new concept at the end of the 19th century. In Britain the first Socialist 'party' was formed in 1883 and advocated a restructuring society along socialist principles.
HG Wells became frustated with limited change in Britain. Aristocratic domination didn't really weaken until after World War I. HG Wells, like many were frustrated by the huge chasm between the rich and poor. He wrote the novel in 1898.
He was trying to make several points with War of the Worlds. The one that struck me the most was that it a criticism of the imperial conquests of Britain at a time when I said above huge numbers in the UK were starving in industrial slums in the UK. At the same time British forces were destroying indgenous peoples sthroughout the globe and the one example cited is of British troops massacring Tasmanians. He wrote the novel on the eve of the Boer War and HG Wells was criticing the arrogance of so called civilising nations who destroyed innocent civilains at a time when the state in Britain was failing the urban poor. He was trying to highlight the arrogance of the British state, how the empire could be humbled so quickly admittedly not by bacteria! But by the ignorance and arrogance of the ruling elites. By 1906 The Fabians had been absorbed into the Labour Party and unfortunately HG Wells 'warning' hasn't been heeded. THere is still a huge rich/poor divide. Arrogant superpwoers who show no regard for the welfare of peoples in the countries that we've invaded and even though the aristicracy no longer has a hold on the country's affairs. We are being led and governed by a political elite who seemingly don't give a shit!
What a ramble. Apologies for punctuation and syntax, I'm watching Planes with my two young boys!
Matt Lewis
With the lovely twist that it's the (recently discovered) tiny bacteria that defeat the aliens
Virus, wasn't it?
THe OP begs the question: Why do you want to know? I mean, why did Jane Austen write Sense & Sensibility?
This goes out to my bwoy DezB
THe OP begs the question: Why do you want to know? I mean, why did Jane Austen write Sense & Sensibility?
Didn't Ang Lee write Sense & Sensibility?
I STILL don't understand the question...
It's a good question! The novel is an allegory of the arrogance of empires and the message that the mighty can fall quite easily. So, Britain at the turn of the last century be careful. Look to change your own state before going into other seemingly unsophisticated socities and wreaking destruction.
Molgrips, I'm pretty sure that it was bacteria but could be wrong. Why does anyone ever produce anything? There is a message no matter how simple behind any story isn't there?
I like matt lewis he got my question !
I vote for matt lewis
...because a guy had a dream and a guitar?
It's a good question!
The one thing there certainly hasn't been in this thread is a "good question"
Even the OP can't explain what he actually wanted to know, or even who he wanted to know it about.
He was living in Woking when he wrote it.
He hated Woking so much, he decided to write a story about it being destroyed.
