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  • Published: 28 April 2026
  • ISBN: 9781529978001
  • Imprint: Vintage Classics
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 192
  • RRP: $45.00

The War of the Worlds




A beautiful deluxe gift edition of the sci-fi classic, the original alien invasion story, with foiled covers, marbled endpapers, sprayed edges, beautiful paper and finished with a silk ribbon.

A beautiful deluxe gift edition of the sci-fi classic, the original alien invasion story, with foiled covers, marbled endpapers, sprayed edges, beautiful paper and finished with a silk ribbon.

This is the ultimate story of alien invasion. When a gigantic, mysterious cylinder lands in Woking, England, people gather in crowds curious to see what is happening. But then the aliens emerge, to begin their total conquest of planet Earth. Evolutionarily superior and armed with powerful technology, they begin their programme of human extermination, making their remorseless way towards the capital. Society is disintegrating and humanity faces obliteration, but one man, the narrator of this story, sets out across the desolate wasteland to find his wife.

This hardback is part of VINTAGE COLLECTOR’S CLASSICS, a series of luxurious books especially crafted for collectors and fans of beautiful special editions. Sumptuous design meets the highest quality production. Discover timeless classics beautifully bound for every bookshelf.

  • Published: 28 April 2026
  • ISBN: 9781529978001
  • Imprint: Vintage Classics
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 192
  • RRP: $45.00

Other books in the series

Emma
Persuasion
A Dog's Heart
The Black Tulip
The Lady of the Camellias
Selected Poetry
On Sparta
Man and Superman
Saint Joan
Botchan
Kusamakura
Love
Annals
Selected Poems
Military Dispatches

About the author

H. G. Wells

English novelist, journalist, sociologist, and historian, whose science fiction stories have been filmed many times. WELLS’ best known works are THE TIME MACHINE, one of the first modern science fiction stories, THE INVISIBLE MAN, and THE WAR OF THE WORLDS. Wells wrote over a hundred of books, about fifty of them novels.

H.G. Wells was born in Bromley, Kent, in 1866. After an education repeatedly interrupted by his family’s financial problems, he eventually found work as a teacher at a succession of schools, where he began to write his first stories.
Wells became a prolific writer with a diverse output, of which the famous works are his science fiction novels. These are some of the earliest and most influential examples of the genre, and include classics such as The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds. Most of his books very well-received, and had a huge influence on many younger writers, including George Orwell and Isaac Asimov. Wells also wrote many popular non-fiction books, and used his writing to support the wide range of political and social causes in which he had an interest, although these became increasingly eccentric towards the end of his life.
Twice-married, Wells had many affairs, including a ten-year liaison with Rebecca West that produced a son. He died in London in 1946.

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Praise for The War of the Worlds

Variously interpreted as a commentary on evolutionary theory, British imperialism and Victorian fears and prejudices, War of the Worlds tells the nail-biting tale of one man's struggle to track down his wife during an alien invasion. Included are some of the most vivid scenes of London in literature

Independent

Sharply satirises the human refusal to look beyond men's petty concerns...wonderfully suggestive

Daily Telegraph

The cosily familiar settings emphasise the horror of the invasion...spookily prescient of the World Wars. Science fiction often dates badly; not so here: hard to believe this was written in 1898

Observer

An astonishing mind and a visionary imagination

Daily Mail

The classic tale of alien invasion, and still the best

The Times