The War of the Worlds
HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.“For a time I believed that mankind had been swept out of existence, and that I stood there alone, the last man left alive.”When a strange, meteor-like object lands in the heart of England, the inhabitants of Earth find themselves victims of a terrible attack. A ruthless race of Martians, armed with heat rays and poisonous smoke, is intent on destroying everything that stands in its way. As the unnamed hero struggles to find his way across decimated wastelands, the fate of the planet hangs in the balance . . .H. G. Wells was a pioneer of modern science fiction. First serialised in the UK in 1897, The War of the Worlds is one of the earliest stories to depict conflict with an extraterrestrial race, and has influenced countless adaptations and sequels.
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THE WAR OF THE WORLDS
H. G. Wells
William Collins
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
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London SE1 9GF
This eBook edition published by William Collins in 2017
Life & Times section © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
Silvia Crompton asserts her moral right as author of the Life & Times section
Classic Literature: Words and Phrases adapted from
Collins English Dictionary
Cover by e-Digital Design
Cover illustration: © Shutterstock
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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Source ISBN: 9780008190019
Ebook Edition © January 2017 ISBN: 9780008190026
Version: 2017-01-05
Contents
Copyright
History of William Collins
Life & Times
Dedication
Book OneâThe Coming of the Martians
1. The Eve of the War
2. The Falling Star
3. On Horsell Common
4. The Cylinder Unscrews
5. The Heat Ray
6. The Heat Ray in the Chobham Road
7. How I Reached Home
8. Friday Night
9. The Fighting Begins
10. In the Storm
11. At the Window
12. What I Saw of the Destruction of Weybridge and Shepperton
13. How I Fell in with the Curate
14. In London
15. What Happened in Surrey
16. The Exodus from London
17. The âThunder Childâ
Book TwoâEarth Under the Martians
1. Under Foot
2. What We Saw from the Ruined House
3. The Days of Imprisonment
4. The Death of the Curate
5. The Stillness
6. The Work of Fifteen Days
7. The Man on Putney Hill
8. Dead London
9. Wreckage
10. The Epilogue
Classic Literature: Words and Phrases
About the Publisher
In 1819, millworker William Collins from Glasgow, Scotland, set up a company for printing and publishing pamphlets, sermons, hymn books, and prayer books. That company was Collins and was to mark the birth of HarperCollins Publishers as we know it today. The long tradition of Collins dictionary publishing can be traced back to the ï¬rst dictionary William co-published in 1825, Greek and English Lexicon. Indeed, from 1840 onwards, he began to produce illustrated dictionaries and even obtained a licence to print and publish the Bible.
Soon after, William published the ï¬rst Collins novel; however, it was the time of the Long Depression, where harvests were poor, prices were high, potato crops had failed, and violence was erupting in Europe. As a result, many factories across the country were forced to close down and William chose to retire in 1846, partly due to the hardships he was facing.
Aged 30, Williamâs son, William II, took over the business. A keen humanitarian with a warm heart and a generous spirit, William II was truly âVictorianâ in his outlook. He introduced new, up-to-date steam presses and published affordable editions of Shakespeareâs works and ThePilgrimâs Progress, making them available to the masses for the ï¬rst time.
A new demand for educational books meant that success came with the publication of travel books, scientiï¬c books, encyclopedias, and dictionaries. This demand to be educated led to the later publication of atlases, and Collins also held the monopoly on scripture writing at the time.
In the 1860s Collins began to expand and diversify and the idea of âbooks for the millionsâ was developed, although the phrase wasnât coined until 1907. Affordable editions of classical literature were published, and in 1903 Collins introduced 10 titles in their Collins Handy Illustrated Pocket Novels. These proved so popular that a few years later this had increased to an output of 50 volumes, selling nearly half a million in their year of publication. In the same year, The Everymanâs Library was also instituted, with the idea of publishing an affordable library of the most important classical works, biographies, religious and philosophical treatments, plays, poems, travel, and adventure. This series eclipsed all competition at the time, and the introduction of paperback books in the 1950s helped to open that market and marked a high point in the industry.
HarperCollins is and has always been a champion of the classics, and the current Collins Classics series follows in this tradition â publishing classical literature that is affordable and available to all. Beautifully packaged, highly collectible, and intended to be reread and enjoyed at every opportunity.
