Dec 24, 2009

The War of the Worlds | Setting

The War of the Worlds is set in the late 1890s in England. For Wells and his original audience, this was a modern setting, and the British weapons he describes were the very latest products of high technology. Although the iron-clad warships and batteries of cannons may seem old-fashioned to present-day readers, one should keep in mind that these weapons were once symbols of terrible destruction. That the Martian war-machines crush the well-armed and mighty British army confirms the Martians as technologically superior enemies of humanity. After the British artillery batteries are...