The War of the Worlds

Character Guide

Spoiler-free — fuller detail (with spoilers, if you want them) lives in the reader's Guide tab.

The Narrator

An unnamed writer on speculative philosophy living in Woking who witnesses the Martian cylinder's landing and much of the invasion firsthand.

The Narrator's Wife

The narrator's wife, whom he drives to safety at her cousin's home in Leatherhead as the Martians begin their attack.

The Narrator's Brother

A medical student in London who witnesses and describes the chaotic exodus from the city as panic spreads.

The Curate

An emotionally unstable clergyman the narrator encounters after fleeing his home; he becomes a reluctant, fearful companion.

Ogilvy

An astronomer and acquaintance of the narrator who is among the first to investigate the fallen cylinder on Horsell Common.

Henderson

A London journalist living near Woking who reports on the cylinder's landing and tries to alert the wider public.

Mrs. Elphinstone

A woman fleeing London by pony-chaise whom the narrator's brother rescues from attackers and travels alongside during the exodus.

The Artilleryman

A soldier the narrator meets amid the fighting who has strong, often grandiose ideas about how humanity might resist or endure the Martians.

Glossary

Heat-Ray

A Martian weapon that projects an invisible beam of intense heat, instantly igniting or vaporizing whatever it touches.

Black Smoke

A dense, poisonous vapor fired by the Martians in rockets/shells, which suffocates and kills anyone caught in it.

Handling-machine

A spider-like mechanical apparatus, controlled by a Martian, used for delicate work like unpacking the cylinder.

Fighting-machine

The towering three-legged 'tripod' war machines the Martians pilot, armed with the Heat-Ray and other weapons.

Red weed

A fast-growing, blood-red Martian plant whose seeds spread across the English countryside during the invasion.

Cylinder

The projectile-like capsule fired from Mars that carries Martians and their equipment to Earth, opening on landing.

Curate

A junior clergyman assisting a parish priest; here, a specific character whose religious anguish shapes his behavior.

Conjunction/opposition

Astronomical terms for planetary alignment relative to Earth and the sun, used to explain when Mars is closest to or farthest from Earth.

Quasi-muscles

The narrator's term for the elastic, electrically-activated disks that power Martian machinery, mimicking animal muscle movement.

"Ulla, ulla"

The mournful, wailing cry made by a trapped or distressed Martian, heard echoing through abandoned London.

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