The opening chapters need no account. A free account opens the whole text.
The War of the Worlds
H. G. Wells · 1898
After astronomers detect strange flashes on Mars, a cylinder falls near Woking. An unnamed observer follows the Martian invasion from Horsell Common through the flight from London and across a devastated countryside, while his brother helps guide refugees toward the coast.
Inside this edition
Every LitLab edition is illustrated from the text itself — the world of the book mapped, its people drawn, its scenes staged. 58 plates are open to everyone in this book; here are 8 of them.
The Characters — Plate 1 of 6
The Characters — Plate 2 of 6
The Characters — Plate 3 of 6
The Falling StarA fiery visitor crosses the night above Surrey.
The Eve of the WarAn evening vigil turns an ordinary sky into a warning.
The First Observers
Surrey, London, and the Essex Coast
Maybury HillThe narrator’s home stands above the road and railway approaches to Woking.
This edition
- Title
- The War of the Worlds
- Author
- H. G. Wells (1866–1946)
- First published
- 1898
- Illustrated plates
- 127 original artworks · 58 open to everyone
- Chapters
- 27 · about 59,977 words
- Reading time
- 4 h
- Language
- EN
- Formats
- Read online · EPUB and PDF download with a subscription
- Publisher
- LitLab — The Illustrated Classics
- On LitLab since
- October 2026
- Rights
- Text in the public domain. Illustrations and edition © LitLab.
Neighbours in the library
Chosen by what they share with The War of the Worlds — the same author, the same years.