Context: Victorian Science & Empire
H.G. Wells — Life and Ideas
H.G. Wells (1866–1946) published The War of the Worlds in 1898, at the height of the British Empire. Wells was a trained scientist and socialist who used science fiction to critique Victorian society. The novel imagines what would happen if Britain — the world’s greatest colonial power — were itself colonised by a technologically superior force.
Wells was influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and by anxieties about the future of humanity. The Martians represent what humans might become — hyper-intelligent but emotionless, reduced to pure intellect. The novel is both a thrilling adventure and a warning about the dangers of unchecked technological and imperial power.
Wells uses the Martian invasion as a reverse colonialism analogy. Victorian Britain, the world’s greatest imperial power, is itself colonised by a technologically superior force. Wells forces readers to empathise with colonised peoples.
Imperialism and the Reverse Invasion
The central analogy of the novel is imperialism in reverse. The narrator explicitly compares the Martian invasion to British colonialism: “Before we judge of them too harshly we must remember what ruthless and utter destruction our own species has wrought.” Wells forces Victorian readers to see themselves as the colonised, not the colonisers.
The Martians treat humans exactly as Europeans treated colonised peoples: as inferior beings to be displaced or destroyed. Wells deliberately sets the invasion in Surrey — the comfortable heart of middle-class England — to make the horror personal and immediate.
The Martians are described as mostly brain: “huge round bodies—or rather heads—about four feet in diameter, each body having in front of it a face.” They have evolved beyond physical bodies, feeding directly on blood. Wells suggests they represent humanity’s future if intellect develops at the expense of compassion. Their technology is devastating but their biology is repulsive — progress without humanity.
Science and Victorian Anxiety
The late Victorian period was marked by scientific optimism but also deep anxiety. Darwin’s theories raised uncomfortable questions about human significance. If species evolve and go extinct, humanity might not be permanent. The Martians embody this fear: they are more evolved but also more horrifying, suggesting that progress does not guarantee improvement.
Wells was a committed socialist who believed Victorian class divisions were as destructive as any alien invasion. The novel shows society collapsing under stress: the wealthy flee, social hierarchies dissolve, and survival depends on adaptability, not privilege. The curate’s cowardice and the artilleryman’s fantasies of rebuilding society both satirise different responses to crisis.
Wells draws on anxieties about imperialism (what if we were colonised?), evolution (what if a superior species exists?), and technology (what if progress makes us inhuman?). The Martians represent the dark side of all three.