<Tr> <Th> Pages </Th> <Td> 287 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Text </Th> <Td> The War of the Worlds at Wikisource </Td> </Tr> <P> The War of the Worlds is a science fiction novel by English author H.G. Wells first serialised in 1897 by Pearson's Magazine in the UK and by Cosmopolitan magazine in the US . The novel's first appearance in hardcover was in 1898 from publisher William Heinemann of London . Written between 1895 and 1897, it is one of the earliest stories that detail a conflict between mankind and an extraterrestrial race . The novel is the first - person narrative of both an unnamed protagonist in Surrey and of his younger brother in London as southern England is invaded by Martians . The novel is one of the most commented - on works in the science fiction canon . </P> <P> The plot has been related to invasion literature of the time . The novel has been variously interpreted as a commentary on evolutionary theory, British imperialism, and generally Victorian superstitions, fears and prejudices . At the time of publication, it was classified as a scientific romance, like Wells' earlier novel The Time Machine . The War of the Worlds has been both popular (having never been out of print) and influential, spawning half a dozen feature films, radio dramas, a record album, various comic book adaptations, a television series, and sequels or parallel stories by other authors . It was most memorably dramatized in a 1938 radio program that allegedly caused public panic among listeners who did not know the Martian invasion was fictional . </P>

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