<P> H.G. Wells's (1866--1946) writing career began in the 1890s with science fiction novels like The War of the Worlds (1898) which describes an invasion of late Victorian England by Martians, and Wells is, along with Frenchman Jules Verne (1828--1905), as a major figure in the development of the science fiction genre . </P> <P> The history of the modern fantasy genre is generally said to begin with George MacDonald, the influential author of The Princess and the Goblin and Phantastes (1858). William Morris was a popular English poet who also wrote several fantasy novels during the latter part of the nineteenth century . The vampire genre fiction began with John William Polidori's "The Vampyre" (1819). This short story was inspired by the life of Lord Byron and his poem The Giaour . Irish writer Bram Stoker was the author of seminal horror work Dracula (1897) with the primary antagonist the vampire Count Dracula . </P> <P> Penny dreadful publications were an alternative to mainstream works, and were aimed at working class adolescents, introducing the infamous Sweeney Todd . The premier ghost story writer of the 19th century was the Irish writer Sheridan Le Fanu, </P> <P> Literature for children developed as a separate genre during the Victorian era, and some works became internationally known, such as Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). At the end of nineteenth - century, the author and illustrator Beatrix Potter was known for her children's books, which featured animal characters, including The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902). In the latter years of the 19th century, precursors of the modern picture book were illustrated books of poems and short stories produced by illustrators Randolph Caldecott, Walter Crane, and Kate Greenaway . These had a larger proportion of pictures to words than earlier books, and many of their pictures were in colour . Vice Versa (1882) by F. Anstey, sees a father and son exchange bodies--body swaps have been a popular theme in various media since the book was published . </P>

Discuss some of the major themes in comparative literature of british isles