The classic science fiction novel, The War of the Worlds was first serialized by Pearson’s Magazine in the UK between April and December of 1897. It was edited together into a book length novel the next year. Written between 1895 and 1897, it is one of the earliest stories about an invasion of the Earth by extraterrestrials.

The War of the Worlds has inspired a number of movies and television series. The most famous recreation of the story was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series The Mercury Theatre on the Air directed and narrated by Orson Welles. The hour long radio drama was performed and broadcast live as a Halloween episode at 8 p.m. on Sunday, October 30, 1938, over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. The episode became famous for allegedly causing panic among its listening audience, though the scale of that panic is disputed. In the days after the adaptation, widespread outrage was expressed in the media. The program’s news-bulletin format was described as deceptive by some newspapers and public figures, leading to an outcry against the broadcasters and calls for regulation by the Federal Communications Commission.

This version of The War of the Worlds reproduces the 1897 Pearson’s Magazine edition with all 66 original illustrations included.

Herbert George Wells was born in Bromley, Kent, England on September 21, 1866. He died August 13, 1946 (aged 79) in Regent’s Park, London. He is often called a “father of science fiction”, along with Jules Verne and Hugo Gernsback.”

The War of the Worlds contains 66 illustrations.