The War of the Worlds.
"No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's": First Edition of H.G. Wells' Classic Novel; The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds.
WELLS, H.G.
$5,500.00
Item Number: 143783
London: William Heinemann, 1898.
First edition, first issue of this science fiction cornerstone. Octavo, original grey cloth lettered in black. Currey’s state (A) with 16 pages publisher’s advertisements at end dated Autumn 1897. In near fine condition, small name to the front free endpaper and title. An exceptional example.
"The War of the Worlds is a tour de force whose innumerable fictional offspring include numerous adaptations and homages, by far the most effective of which was Orson Welles Mercury Theater radio broadcast of 1938" (Anatomy of Wonder II-1234). Filmed several times, the first in 1953, starring Gene Barry and Ann Robinson and most recently in 2005 film directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning.