First World War Fiction

H.G. Wells set the standard for futuristic literature that teemed with both social commentary and a prescient view of the world to come. Here, we present The Island of Doctor Moreau and The War of the Worlds, two of the most popular and thrilling science fiction novels ever created. First, meet Edward Prendick as he tries to navigate the island where he has been stranded, where the enigmatic Doctor Moreau conducts his unnatural experiments. Then follow the narrator as he describes the unthinkable: an invasion of Earth by the inhabitants of Mars. Can mankind survive?

Primera Guerra Mundial, marzo de 1916, Joseph Reavley, gravemente herido en el intento de rescatar a un compañero durante el combate, es enviado a casa, en Cambridgeshire, para recuperarse al lado de su hermana Hannah. La inesperada visita de un amigo común los involucra en un invento que podría neutralizar el efecto devastador de los submarinos alemanes, así como el asesinato de uno de los científicos implicados en el mismo.

1917: America's declaration of war against Germany gives Grace Winter, a keen-eyed New York Times investigative reporter, a much sought after opportunity to make her mark on the Western Front, albeit in ways she had never expected. But by 1918 the gruesome reality of trench warfare has set in, and an invisible new enemy - The Spanish Flu - is killing allied soldiers in their droves.

"Mentre avanzavo mi convinsi sempre più che, in quella parte del mondo, fatta eccezione per qualche sbandato come me, lo sterminio dell'umanità era ormai compiuto". "La guerra dei mondi" ("The War of the Worlds") è uno dei primi romanzi del genere fantascientifico ed è anche l'opera più famosa di Wells.

Abril de 1915. La Primera Guerra Mundial sigue su implacable marcha. Entre las tropas británicas enviadas al frente, se hallan los hermanos Reavley. Joseph, el mayot de los tres, ejerce de capellán en las trincheras, mientras que Judith es conductora y traductora del general que está al mando del ejército británico.

Pensaban que estaban solos en el mundo, que ellos eran los únicos seres dotados de inteligencia. No se hacían una idea de lo equivocados que estaban. En Marte, a tan solo unos cuantos millones de kilómetros de distancia, comenzaba a fraguarse la guerra de los mundos. Todo comenzó con unas pequeñas explosiones sobre la superficie del planeta rojo. Pocos días después, un enorme proyectil impactó contra la Tierra, cerca de Londres.

События романа, описываемые от первого лица безымянным героем-очевидцем, происходят в Англии, марсиане легко побеждают британскую армию и массово истребляют людей, но сами становятся жертвами болезни, вызванной земными бактериями.

München, 1923: Deutschland versinkt in den düsteren Tiefen der Wirtschaftskrise, und zwei Paare stehen an der Schwelle ihres Schicksals. Helga und Heinrich Goldmann kämpfen buchstäblich um ihr nacktes Überleben, während Edith und Julius Falkenstein zur Elite Deutschlands gehören. Als die schüchterne Edith Julius zum ersten Mal traf, war es Liebe auf den ersten Blick. Die Einheirat in die mächtige Falkenstein-Familie hat sie in die glitzernde Gesellschaft der oberen Zehntausend katapultiert. Doch ihre heile Welt gerät ins Wanken, als die Nazi-Partei immer mehr Macht und Einfluss gewinnt.

This latest instalment in the popular series sees Lily finally on her way to realising her dream of becoming a teacher. Nellie's older sister, Johanna, starts walking out with Harry the footman, and is extremely worried when he enlists and goes off to fight in World War I. He send letters to the girls from the front and tells them all about the Christmas Day truce in 1914...but then a telegram comes. Harry is missing, presumed dead. Will he return to Lissadell, safe and sound?

The First World War has ended, but it hasn’t gone away. When Natty has to move to a new village, she meets two young soldiers who are still battling the effects of war. Huw can’t forget the terrible things he’s seen, but Johnny doesn’t even remember who he is. As Natty tries to keep a secret and unravel a mystery, she finds her own way to fight for what she believes in - and learns that some things should never be forgotten....

While collecting driftwood on their local beach in Dorset, Ben and Sidney find a message in a bottle washed up on the shore. The message is written in rhyme - is it just a poem? Through a series of adventures, the boys, along with Sidney's twin sister, Vera, discover that there is much more to the message than meets the eye....

1776. The early days of the Revolutionary War. It supposedly began with Thomas Hickey, a private in the Continental Army, and New York governor William Tryon. In an astonishing power grab, they plotted to kill Hickey's boss: a man by the name of George Washington. In the end, Hickey was caught, brought to trial, and found guilty. It would seem he became the first person in the new nation to be executed for treason.

German-American novelist Erich Maria Remarque captured the emotional anguish of a generation in his World War I masterpiece, All Quiet on the Western Front, as well as in an impressive selection of novels, plays, and short stories. This exquisite collection revives Remarque’s unforgettable voice, presenting a series of short stories that have long ago faded from public memory. Eight Stories offers a beautiful tribute to the pain that war inflicts on soldiers and civilians alike, and resurrects the work of a master author whose legacy will endure for generations to come.

Flanders, June 1917: a British officer and celebrated poet is shot dead, killed not by German fire, but while recuperating from shell shock well behind the lines. A young English soldier is arrested and, although he protests his innocence, charged with his murder. Douglas Kingsley is a conscientious objector, previously a detective with the London police, now imprisoned for his beliefs. He is released, and sent to France in order to secure a conviction.