First World War Fiction

The War of the Worlds is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells about an attempted invasion of Earth by beings from the planet Mars with much greater intelligence and more advanced weapons than humans. The Martians intend to eliminate mankind and conquer Earth because their own older and smaller world has reached the "last stage of exhaustion".

In 1910s Australia, the sins of the fathers leave behind a bloody legacy in this historical epic saga, perfect for fans of Peaky Blinders. Two fathers, their sons and the feud that binds them. In the early years of the twentieth century, Billy and Tommy Smith are growing up on the mean streets...

The War of the Worlds is the classic alien-invasion novel: Martian cylinders fall down upon a complacent Victorian England, unleashing towering tripods, heat rays and poisonous black smoke. An unnamed writer is among the humans trying to flee, and it is through his eyes that we see the shattering of ordinary life by beings with advanced intelligence and weaponry. The novel's terror is timeless. Its depiction of technological shock, mass panic and sudden ruin feels both fantastical and unnervingly possible. It exposes the arrogance of empire and the horror of facing a power we don't understand.

In this, the first volume of renowned author and historian Peter G. Tsouras’s alternative history trilogy, Great Britain’s support for the Confederacy takes it to the brink of war with the Union. The escape of a British-built Confederate ironclad finally ignites the heap of combustible animosities and national interests. When the US Navy seizes it in British waters, the ensuing battle spirals into all-out war. Napoleon III eagerly joins the British and declares war on the United States.

In 1913, before there is a rumor of war in Europe, Matthias Wrenn and Con Hatchel, lifelong friends from Ballyrannel in the Irish midlands, decide to see the world at the expense of the king of England and join the British army. A year later, while en route to India, their troop ship is recalled and they soon find themselves in the European slaughterhouse that was World War I.

Brought to you by Penguin. TRANSLATED BY MAX HAYWARD AND MANYA HARARI Banned in the Soviet Union until 1988, Doctor Zhivago is the epic story of the life and loves of a poet-physician during the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. Taking his family from Moscow to shelter in the Ural Mountains...

Second Lieutenant Wilfred Owen was twenty-four years old when he was admitted to the newly established Craiglockhart War Hospital for treatment of shell shock. A nascent poet, trying to make sense of the terror he had witnessed, he read a collection of poems from a fellow officer, Siegfried...

Michael Morpurgo’s classic tale, capturing the power of the human spirit. Beautifully performed by Dan Stevens, ‘War Horse’ has taken the world by storm. First published back in 1982, the book was adapted to the stage and was performed at the National Theatre and on Broadway. At the...

The War of the Worlds introduced the idea of alien invasion to the world. Featuring inscrutable extra-terrestrials armed with a terrifying array of weapons, including the Heat-Ray, robotic killing machines walking on three legs, and 'black smoke', the novel resonated with Victorian Britain. The ingenious creations of Wells' mind stood out from the abundance of invasion literature that was flooding the market at the time.

Start a BRAND NEW wartime series, inspired by the true story of the 1st Special Service Force, from Patrick Larsimont Silent as shadows, deadly in the dark In the darkest days of World War II, a top-secret experiment unites the toughest outdoorsmen: lumberjacks, cowboys, prospectors and hunters...

Jeff Shaara has enthralled readers with his New York Times bestselling novels set during the Civil War and the American Revolution. Now the acclaimed author turns to World War I, bringing to life the sweeping, emotional story of the war that devastated a generation and established America as a...

With a unique and fascinating glimpse into the lesser-known stories of the War to End All Wars, this riveting book unveils four thrilling stories from the trenches, seas, skies, and desert of a war-torn world. From one captain’s death-defying mission to smuggle weapons for an Irish rebellion to heroic pilots and soldiers from all corners of the globe, these stories shed light on real people and events from one of the greatest conflicts in human history.

Discover the BRAND NEW follow-up to One Last Summer of Innocence from MILLION COPY bestseller Rosie Clarke A devastating war. A forbidden love. And a secret that changes everything. Cambridgeshire With the First World War closing in, Harry and Kate are torn apart by a devastating secret that...

It is 1914, and the storm clouds of war are building on the horizon. In Sydney, Josiah Steele is the new head of the family and grappling with his two very different sons - David, upstanding, decent and heir to the family enterprises; and Benjamin, wayward, restless and a magnet for trouble. To...

It has been 14 years since the Martians invaded England. The world has moved on, always watching the skies but content that we know how to defeat the Martian menace. Machinery looted from the abandoned capsules and war-machines has led to technological leaps forward. The Martians are vulnerable...

The centenary edition, with a newly commissioned introduction by Jo Hamya. 'Fascinating . . . an extraordinary mixture of historical detail and sexual meditation . . . G. belongs in the tradition of George Eliot, Tolstoy, D. H. Lawrence and Norman Mailer.' New York Times In this luminous novel...

In Book Two, the narrator and the curate witness a Martian machine seizing people and tossing them into a metal carrier. The narrator realises that the Martian invaders have plans for their victims. When a fifth Martian cylinder lands, both men are trapped beneath the ruins of a manor house. Hidden in the wreckage, the narrator observes the Martians in the impact pit and learns that they feed on blood, taken now from humans, and that they appear to communicate with some type of telepathy. The curate falls into despair.

In the mid-1890s, aliens on Mars plot an invasion of Earth because their world is becoming uninhabitable. In the early 20th century, in the summer, an object thought to be a meteor lands on Horsell Common, near the narrator's home. It turns out to be an artificial cylinder launched towards Earth months earlier, as Earth and Mars approached opposition. Several Martians emerge and struggle with Earth's gravity and atmosphere.

Brought to you by Penguin. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER As young boys, both Jacques Rebière and Thomas Midwinter become fascinated with trying to understand the human mind. As psychiatrists, their quest takes them from the squalor of the Victorian lunatic asylum to the crowded lecture halls of...

West Yorkshire, 1914. Newly married to Noah Jackson, Beth is happily content working on her family's market stall while Noah fulfils his dreams of being a teacher. When war erupts, Beth's peaceful life is shattered by events beyond her control. Noah enlists to fight alongside his brothers. A devastating accident occurs that changes all their lives. Once a loving home, Beaumont Farm becomes Beth's responsibility.