Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Chronicles, where this time we're going to be talking about the War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. And here, this time to

talk the story through with me is the future King of Mars himself, Bo. How are you, sir?

Fine, thank you. How are you? Yeah, really good. Really. Thanks coming on to talk all about such an

iconic novel. Yeah, no, I'm happy to. It's one of my favourites.

I've read it a number of times.

I've re-read it or actually re-listened to the audio book over the weekend.

Right.

So it's fresh in my mind.

I actually haven't seen the Tom Cruise version, or I watched a bit of it and then abandoned it.

I wasn't interested.

Yes.

But the original book is superb. Well, I'm personally of the opinion being a prudish purist,

that it shouldn't really be set, the War of the World shouldn't really be set in any era

other than Victorian England.

Right.

The story works best in Victorian England, partly because it was responding to a particular moment

in British history. You know, it's responding to the British Empire at the height of its power

during the Pax Britannica, the 1890s, when there was a feeling of real national confidence

in the air. Now, you suppose you could say that about America,

you know, 2000 when the film was trying to, but it's just not the same. It's in order to work

best, it's got to be kept in the time period it was meant to be in.

Yeah, definitely. The original book is very, very, very firmly set in South East England or in

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