Chapter Summaries for Book 1
Explore detailed chapter summaries for Book 1 of The War of the Worlds. Follow the narrator’s firsthand account as the Martians arrive, attack, and spread terror across England. This guide breaks down each chapter, highlighting key events, themes, and the escalating invasion.
Book 1: The Coming of the Martians
Chapter 1: The Eve of the War
“No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own…”
The story begins with the narrator reflecting on humanity’s ignorance and arrogance. A philosophical writer with a keen interest in science and human nature, he introduces us to the mysterious activity observed on Mars.
Flashes of light, described as “flaming gases rushed out of a gun,” were seen on Mars over ten days, one flash per day. The narrator even witnesses one of these events through the telescope of his astronomer friend, Ogilvy.
The chapter ends with a peaceful moment: the narrator and his wife taking a tranquil evening walk. This calm foreshadows the chaos that will soon disrupt their lives.
(Note: The narrator and his wife remain unnamed, a choice explored in-depth here.)
Chapter 2: The Falling Star
A mysterious line of flame streaks across the sky, leaving a greenish trail and a hissing sound as it falls to Earth. Interestingly, the narrator, working late in his study with the window open, misses the event entirely—too engrossed in his work to notice.
The next morning, “poor Ogilvy” (this choice of words acutely foreshadows his fate) is the first to discover the object at Horsell Common. Initially assumed to be a meteor, the object is cylindrical, 30 yards in diameter, and covered in a thick, scaly crust. It’s too hot to approach, but Ogilvy hears faint noises from within. At first, he attributes them to the surface cooling unevenly.
Soon, Ogilvy notices the crust breaking away and realizes, with mounting horror, that the top of the cylinder is unscrewing. Making the connection to the flashes on Mars, he runs to Woking for help, but most people dismiss him as a lunatic. Finally, he convinces a London journalist, Henderson, to investigate.
Together, Ogilvy and Henderson return to the site but still cannot approach due to the heat and radiation. The sounds inside the cylinder have stopped, and they fear the occupants are near, if not already, dead. They shout reassurances and run to gather more help. Henderson wires the news to London, and the narrator reads about it in the morning paper. By then, a crowd has already gathered, eager to glimpse the “dead men from Mars.”
Chapter 3: On Horsell Common
The narrator visits the pit where the mysterious cylinder has landed, joining a small group of curious onlookers. While the object initially seems unremarkable, he observes that a trained scientific eye is needed to recognize its potential extraterrestrial origin.
The scaly outer material isn’t a common oxide, and the metal visible between the lid and the cylinder has an unfamiliar hue. But he does not believe it contains living creatures. Rather he thinks that the unscrewing top is an automated mechanism, likely to reveal manuscripts or artifacts from Mars.
He is impatient for it to open, but the unscrewing has ceased. The silence from within only deepens the mystery, as if the pit itself is holding its breath. He eventually returns home, finding himself too distracted to work.
By the afternoon, the news of the cylinder has spread far and wide. When the narrator returns to the pit, he finds a much larger crowd gathered. Several notable figures are now inside the pit, including Ogilvy, Henderson, and Stent, the Astronomer Royal.
Ogilvy summons the narrator, asking him to locate Lord Hilton to arrange for an enclosure around the pit and help control the growing crowd. Feeling honored by this task, the narrator sets off and learns that Lord Hilton is expected by train. He heads to the station to wait for him.
Chapter 4: The Cylinder Opens
When the narrator returns to the pit, the crowd has grown to several hundred people, all jostling and elbowing for a better view. A frightened boy runs away, shouting that the cylinder is unscrewing rapidly. Amid the chaos, a man is accidentally pushed into the pit and struggles to climb out.
The lid of the cylinder finally comes off, landing with a thud—but the narrator misses this moment, looking away at the wrong time. Suddenly, he sees tentacles emerging. First two, then more, as a Martian pulls itself through the opening. Its body is a grey-brown, oily bulk, about the size of a bear, with two large, dark eyes and a beak-like mouth.
The Martian falls heavily to the ground, and another begins to emerge. Overcome with horror, the narrator runs, only to stop and hide behind nearby trees, unable to fully tear himself away from the scene. From his hiding spot, he watches helplessly as the man in the pit continues to struggle, but his fear keeps him from going back to help.
Chapter 5: The Heat-Ray
Torn between fear and curiosity, the narrator keeps his distance while trying to observe the pit. He sees the Martians’ octopus-like arms moving about and watches as they assemble a strange device: a thin rod with a circular disk on top. The lack of immediate danger emboldens the onlookers, who begin venturing closer.
Three men approach the pit, waving a white flag. Later, the narrator learns they were Ogilvy, Stent, and Henderson. Without warning, three puffs of green, smoky flame light up the night. A hissing sound turns into a droning noise as a beam of light bursts from the pit. In an instant, the beam sets the three men ablaze, followed by the onlookers scrambling to escape.
The heat-ray sweeps across the area, destroying everything in its path—houses, trees, and people—with the swiftness of a flaming sword. Paralyzed with fear, the narrator avoids the deadly beam by sheer luck.
When the Martians’ apparatus sinks back into the pit, the night becomes eerily quiet. Only then does the narrator feel the full weight of fear, realizing he is alone and utterly vulnerable. Overcome, he flees with ferocity.
Chapter 6: The Heat-Ray in the Chobham Road
In this chapter, the narrator reflects on recent events and offers additional details. He speculates on how the Martians generate intense heat, suggesting they use a non-conductive chamber to produce it, which is then projected using a parabolic mirror—likely the device they were assembling in Chapter 5.
He recalls the initial nonchalance of the crowd, who treated the arrival of the cylinder as a novelty. Many came simply to witness the excitement, unaware of the danger. He also notes that, after the Martians first emerged, Stent and Ogilvy had telegraphed the military for assistance, still viewing the Martians as unusual visitors in need of care.
The narrator reflects on how quickly everything turned from curiosity to chaos. The heat-ray’s devastating power transformed the scene into one of panic and destruction. Even among those who escaped, many were injured—some crushed or trampled in the frantic attempt to flee.
Chapter 7: How I Reached Home
The narrator, consumed by terror, stumbles blindly until he collapses from exhaustion. When he regains consciousness, everything seems disturbingly normal—people are going about their routines as if nothing has happened. Struggling to process the horror he witnessed, he questions whether it was even real. He reflects on his sense of detachment during the event, wondering if such a reaction is typical.
He attempts to share what he saw, but his words fail him, and people dismiss him with laughter. Embarrassed and defeated, he returns home, where his wife believes him without question. Her belief, however, turns to fear as she imagines the Martians leaving their pit to attack them. Regaining his composure, the narrator reassures her, drawing on what he learned from Ogilvy.
He explains the scientific consensus: Earth’s stronger gravity would render the Martians nearly immobile. But the narrator reflects on two critical facts they didn’t yet understand: Earth’s higher oxygen levels would invigorate the Martians, and their advanced machinery would compensate for any physical limitations. Unaware of this, he feels confident in reassuring his wife. Perhaps the Martians were unprepared for intelligent life, and the military will simply shell the pit and end the threat.
This dinner with his wife, however, will be his last moment of normalcy for many terrifying days to come.
Chapter 8: Friday Night
The news of the events at the pit has yet to spread widely. For most people, life goes on as usual, and the Martians’ arrival is little more than an amusing topic for conversation at the pub.
Henderson’s story was not published, as the papers received no confirmation from the now-dead reporter. Only those within the radius of destruction are aware of the true danger. Near the pit, a curious crowd lingers at the edges, some venturing closer—never to return.
Throughout the night, the Martians hammer and tinker within the pit, their activity unceasing. Around 11 p.m., the military begins to arrive, setting up a perimeter. But then, at midnight, another “falling star” streaks across the sky, heralding the arrival of a second cylinder.
Chapter 9: The Fighting Begins
Saturday arrives, hot and suspenseful, with a general sense of confidence that the military will handle the Martian threat. Neighbors speculate on mundane topics like insurance for the damages and what humanity could learn from the Martians if only they were more approachable.
The narrator skips work to visit the area around the pit but finds it guarded by soldiers who know little about the situation. The soldiers, full of bravado, argue about the best ways to kill the Martians. Despite the heat and lack of news, the narrator feels excited about the military’s preparations and imagines the Martians’ defeat.
At 3 p.m., the military begins shelling the second cylinder, hoping to destroy it before the Martians emerge. By 5 p.m., a field gun arrives to target the first cylinder. At 6 p.m., as the narrator enjoys tea with his wife, the chaos begins. The Heat-Ray suddenly strikes the surrounding area, bringing devastation. Realizing they are in the line of fire, the narrator rushes his wife and servant out of the house.
They decide to flee to his cousin’s house in Leatherhead. He runs to the Spotted Dog pub to rent a horse and cart. The scene there feels oddly normal—business as usual, with another man casually bidding for the cart, unaware of the danger. Outbidding the man, the narrator secures the cart with a promise to return it by midnight.
He hurries back and packs their belongings, insisting the women stay outside in case of danger. A passing soldier warns of something crawling out of the pit, “a thing like a dish cover.”
As they flee, they see streamers of black smoke shot into the air along the horizon. The sound of a machine gun abruptly stops, replaced by the occasional crack of a rifle, hinting at the Martians’ devastating advance.
Chapter 10: In the Storm
The trio arrives safely in Leatherhead, but the narrator must return the cart. Despite his wife’s anxiety, he admits feeling excited by the unfolding events and reluctant to miss the Martians’ extermination.
As he sets off near midnight, a thunderstorm brews. Suddenly, the third cylinder screams overhead, followed by lightning and thunder, spooking his horse into a wild gallop. The dark night becomes chaotic, illuminated only by flashes of lightning. In these brief glimpses, the narrator sees the outline of an enormous tripod towering above the trees, moving swiftly. Another flash reveals a second tripod directly in the horse’s path.
The narrator pulls hard on the reins, crashing the cart. The horse is killed instantly, and he is thrown into a roadside puddle. Paralyzed with fear, he crouches as the Martian tripod passes. He observes its long, metallic tentacles, capable of uprooting trees, and the peculiar hood swiveling as if searching. Green smoke puffs from its joints, and a white metal basket is affixed to its back.
As hail intensifies, he glimpses the two tripods stooping over the third cylinder’s landing site. Determined but disoriented, he pushes through the storm and foliage, intent on returning home. Along the way, he stumbles upon a body. A flash of lightning reveals it to be the landlord of the Spotted Dog, whose cart he had borrowed.
Shaken but resolute, the narrator finally reaches his house and collapses, overwhelmed by the trauma of what he has witnessed.
Chapter 11: At the Window
Recovering from his initial shock, the narrator cleans himself up, changes clothes, and moves to his study to look out the window. In the darkness, he observes the aftermath of the Martian devastation: a crashed train, leveled homes and forests, and three enormous, ominous black shapes moving in the distance.
His attention shifts to a man stumbling through his garden—the artilleryman, who escaped the destruction and is searching for refuge. The narrator invites him inside, offers him food, and listens to his harrowing story.
The artilleryman recounts how the first group of Martians moved toward the second cylinder under a protective metal shield. Later, tripod legs were attached to this shield, forming the first fighting machine. He describes being thrown from his horse just before the Heat-Ray annihilated his unit. Trapped under a pile of charred bodies, he waited as the tripod completed its destruction and wandered off. A second machine was then assembled and followed the first.
During his escape, the artilleryman witnessed a third machine scoop up a man in its tentacles and brutally bang his head against a tree.
As dawn approaches, the narrator and the artilleryman survey the scene from the window. In the light of day, the full scale of the destruction becomes horrifyingly clear.
Chapter 12: What I Saw of the Destruction of Weybridge and Shepperton
The narrator and the artilleryman agree the house is no longer safe. While the narrator is eager to leave, the soldier insists on packing provisions first. The artilleryman plans to head to London to rejoin his battery, while the narrator wants to reach his wife in Leatherhead. However, the third cylinder blocks the direct route. Persuading him not to risk his life unnecessarily, the artilleryman convinces the narrator to take a detour toward London.
As they travel, the road is littered with charred corpses and abandoned belongings. The eerie stillness of the air, devoid of wind or birdsong, heightens the sense of dread. Along the way, they meet a small group of fresh soldiers heading toward the action. The artilleryman tries to describe the Martians, but his warnings are met with disbelief.
They pass through towns where military units prepare their cannons and attempt to evacuate the citizens. Yet the townsfolk, ignorant of the approaching danger, are preoccupied with trivial concerns—dressing in their best clothes, gathering valuables, and refusing to leave potted plants behind. The narrator shouts warnings of impending death, but his cries fall on deaf ears. While trains and ferries are packed, the urgency for escape has not yet dawned on the masses.
Suddenly, nearby guns open fire as five Martian tripods advance. Panic erupts, and the narrator urges people to get into the river to escape the Heat-Ray. Chaos descends as the Martians scatter boats, people, and buildings in their path. The military continues firing and manages to hit one of the tripods, sending it toppling into the river. The narrator cheers in fleeting triumph, only to feel the water heating up from the machinery’s violent thrashing.
The four remaining Martians quickly surround their fallen comrade, unleashing Heat-Rays in all directions. Struggling to comprehend the noise, smoke, and heat, the narrator dives for survival. A nearby Heat-Ray slices through the water, creating a boiling wave that scalds him as he struggles for the shore, half-blind and in agony.
Collapsed and expecting death, he lays motionless as a massive Martian foot lands just yards away. But instead of attacking, the four Martians gather their fallen companion and retreat. The narrator has once again narrowly escaped death.
Chapter 13: How I Fell In With the Curate
“What good is religion if it collapses under calamity?”
Miraculously still alive, the narrator attributes his survival to the Martians’ need to regroup after witnessing the power of human artillery. Yet reinforcements continue to arrive, with a new cylinder landing every 24 hours. The Martians spend the day transferring materials from the newly arrived cylinders back to the original pit on Horsell Common, working tirelessly into the night, a column of thick green smoke visible for miles.
Meanwhile, the narrator strips off his wet clothes and pushes through the devastation toward London. He discovers a small, abandoned boat and paddles as far as he can with his scorched hands down the still-steaming river. After dragging himself ashore, he attempts to walk but collapses from exhaustion and thirst, overcome by a mix of rational and irrational thoughts.
When he awakens, he finds a clergyman—the curate—sitting beside him, mumbling incoherently. The curate’s church was destroyed in Weybridge, and he is unable to reconcile the trauma with his religious beliefs. The narrator attempts to reason with him and offer hope, but the man is unreachable, lost in despair.
Finally, the narrator takes a firmer approach, angrily reprimanding the man to get himself together. At last, the narrator convinces the rattled curate to join him on the journey toward London.
Chapter 14: In London
At this point, the narrative shifts to the perspective of the narrator’s younger brother, as later recounted to him. The brother, a medical student in London, is preoccupied with his exams when vague and unalarming news of the Martians’ arrival reaches the city on Saturday. Telegraph communication has been interrupted, presumably due to burning pine trees falling across the line.
Assuming his brother’s home in Woking is safely outside the danger zone, he feels no immediate concern. Curiosity leads him to plan a visit to “see the Things before they are killed,” but his midnight train is canceled due to reports of an accident or breakdown.
By Sunday, the news becomes more detailed, but Londoners remain largely indifferent. Many express mild concern for those involved but cannot imagine the threat reaching them. Late Sunday afternoon, a slightly more alarming report catches the brother’s attention, and he heads back to the train station. There, he finds chaos—disorganized service, ill-tempered patrons, and trains crammed with confident soldiers and artillery heading toward the front. Outside the station, he notices several loiterers watching a strange brown scum drifting in patches down the stream, a bizarre and unsettling sight.
Finally, a fresh news report delivers accurate details of the weekend’s events, sparking growing unease. Refugees begin trickling into London with stories of devastation, and the brother learns that Woking has been completely destroyed. In the streets, there is frustration toward the authorities for their perceived failure to handle the Martian threat without disrupting daily life.
In the early hours of Monday morning, the brother is woken by a deafening clamor. London is being evacuated under the imminent threat of Martian advance. Reports warn of enormous clouds of poisonous black smoke unleashed by the Martians, killing everything in their path.
Quickly gathering his available money, the brother rushes into the streets, his fate uncertain.
(Note: The brother is also unnamed, a choice explored in-depth here.)
Chapter 15: What Had Happened in Surrey?
See, what had happened was… (Sorry, couldn’t resist!)
The narrative rejoins the narrator and the curate on Sunday evening. The Martians have been hard at work in their Horsell pit, an operation discharging large amounts of ominous green smoke. Meanwhile, the remaining military units lie in hiding throughout the surrounding areas, waiting to strike.
Around 8 p.m., three Martian tripods emerge, advancing in formation and communicating through siren-like howls. A hidden military installation successfully topples one of the tripods by smashing its leg. However, the remaining two swiftly annihilate the attackers and stand guard while the fallen machine is repaired.
At 9 p.m., the Martians change tactics. Four more tripods join the fray, each carrying thick black tubes. The seven tripods disperse, firing canisters that explode on impact, releasing vast volumes of poisonous black smoke. The heavy smoke does not rise but falls, billowing through the countryside, killing everything that breathes and devastating hidden military installations. This marks the end of any organized resistance against the invaders.
Once the smoke has served its purpose, the Martians disperse it with jets of steam. By this time, the fourth cylinder has landed.
The narrator and the curate observe parts of the action from hiding, first crouched in a ditch, then seeking refuge in a deserted house.
Chapter 16: The Exodus From London
London has descended into complete chaos, with all social order disintegrating under the advancing Martian threat. Overloaded trains plow through shrieking crowds, and panic grips the streets. The brother, desperate to escape, secures a bicycle from a looted shop, but punctures the wheel on broken glass. He rides as far as he can before the wheel fails entirely, escaping the immediate fury and panic.
Unsure where to go, he continues on foot toward a town where some friends live. On the road, he comes across a harrowing scene: three men are accosting two women for their transportation. Without hesitation, the brother intervenes, attacking the men. One flees, and the women escape, leaving the brother to fend off the remaining attackers.
He chases after the pony cart, but a stumble leaves him vulnerable to his pursuers. Thankfully, the younger of the women returns with a revolver hidden in the cart, firing shots that scare off the attackers. She gives the revolver to the brother, and the three become travel companions.
The ladies are Mrs. and Miss Elphinstone, a surgeon’s wife and sister. They had planned to meet the surgeon, but he is hours overdue. Though they have enough money for train fare, the brother persuades them to avoid the station, having witnessed its chaos firsthand.
They persuade the reluctant Mrs. Elphinstone to press on as she wails for “George,” consumed by grief and fear. As they travel, the group is joined by an ever-growing torrent of traumatized refugees, clogging the roadways and amplifying the sense of despair. At one point, the brother tries in vain to save a man, obsessed with recovering his dropped coins, from being crushed beneath a carriage.
With no alternative to crossing the congested roadway, the group presses through the fray, aided by the steadfast Miss Elphinstone. Finally, exhausted and wary, they find a place to rest by the side of the road.
Chapter 17: The ‘Thunder Child’
As the refugee stampede grows more desperate, the Martians methodically spread their poison smoke, cut telegraph lines, destroy railways, and cripple humanity’s infrastructure. The brother and his companions press toward the coast, seeking escape from England. Over the coming days, three more cylinders land. Miss Elphinstone witnesses the seventh as she takes turns keeping watch with the brother.
By Wednesday, the trio reaches Chelmsford, where their pony is seized for provisions. Despite hunger, the brother insists on pushing onward without delay—a decision that proves wise.
They arrive at the coast to find the waterways jammed with ships and boats of all sizes. Near the shore lies the ironclad ram Thunder Child, the only visible warship, with several others further out to sea. The sight of the coast drives Mrs. Elphinstone into hysterics—she’s never left England, fears the unknown, and longs to return to the safety of home and George. With difficulty, they manage to get her to the beach and onto a paddle steamer.
The captain delays departure for hours, filling the boat to its limit, but finally sets off when the sound of gunfire erupts. As they leave the shore, a Martian appears, followed by two more. The tripods wade into the sea, their towering legs nearly submerged, in pursuit of the escaping ships.
Suddenly, the paddle steamer lurches, tossing the brother from his seat. He steadies himself to see the Thunder Child charging past, a torpedo-like blur heading directly for the Martians. Confused by the swift and unexpected assault, the Martians fire their smoke cannon and Heat-Ray too late. The Thunder Child fires its guns and rams the nearest tripod, destroying it even as the Heat-Ray slices through the ship’s side.
Somehow, the warship’s engines and steering remain operational. It targets a second Martian, which also reacts too late. The Heat-Ray destroys the Thunder Child in a fiery explosion, but the resulting blast takes down the second Martian as well.
As the steamboat paddles seaward, the view of the battle is obscured by steam and black smoke. Nothing more is seen of the Thunder Child or the third Martian. By sunset, distant gunfire echoes across the horizon, but nothing is visible. Later that evening, a strange flying object is seen in the sky, raining darkness onto the land.
Continue on to Book 2…