#FirstLineFriday Submissions Are Now Closed! Here’s the Answer to Our Quiz, and the Names of Our Winners!

/ Marcia Meara

Time to close today’s #FirstLineFriday quiz. I’m happy to say we have three winners today, and they are Harmony Kent, Darlene Foster, and Trish Power. Congratulations to these ladies who each knew the correct answer:

“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; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were being scrutinized and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.” is the long but very intriguing opening line of The War of the Worlds, by famed English Sci-Fi writer H. G. Wells. 

The novel’s first appearance in hardcover was in 1898 from publisher William Heinemann of London. Written between 1895 and 189, or more than 120 years ago, it is one of the earliest stories to detail a conflict between mankind and an extraterrestrial race. Believe it or not, this book has NEVER been out of print in all those years, and has been adapted for film at least twice, in 1953 and more recently, in 2005.

This is the book that spawned so many of our favorite science fiction stories, novels, and movies over the decades. I’m ashamed to say that while I’m familiar with the book, of course, I’ve never read it. It’s definitely going on my TBR pile! Hope some of you will check it out, too.

BLURB:

A beautiful and rare edition that includes 130 illustrations by Henrique Correa
SeaWolf Press is proud to offer another book in its H. G. Wells 100th Anniversary Collection. Each book in the collection contains the text and illustrations from the first or early edition (but it is not a photocopy.)Use Amazon’s Lookinside feature to compare this edition with others. You’ll be impressed by the differences. If you like our book, be sure to leave a review! Our version has:

  • 130 original illustrations. Don’t be fooled by other versions with missing or made-up pictures.
  • Text that has been proofread to avoid errors common in other versions.
  • A beautiful cover that replicates the first edition cover.
  • The complete text in an easy-to-read font similar to the original.
  • Properly formatted text complete with correct indenting, spacing, footnotes, italics, and tables.

The War of the Worlds is a captivating science fiction novel that appeared in hardcover in 1898. It is one of the earliest stories to detail a conflict between mankind and an extraterrestrial race. The novel is the first-person narrative as southern England is invaded by Martians who possess devastating weapons. The novel has been variously interpreted as a commentary on evolutionary theory, British imperialism, and generally Victorian superstitions, fears, and prejudices. The story has also been made into a number of movies, TV shows, and radio dramas. It was most memorably dramatized in a 1938 radio program that caused public panic among listeners who did not know the Martian invasion was fictional. The novel has even influenced the work of rocket scientists in their quest to land on the moon.

Buy The War of the Worlds HERE

Thanks so much for playing, and I’m already looking forward to next week’s #FirstLineFriday quiz. Stay tuned!

22 thoughts on “#FirstLineFriday Submissions Are Now Closed! Here’s the Answer to Our Quiz, and the Names of Our Winners!”

  1. Good choice and I would have guessed it if I hadn’t been kidnapped by aliens and missed your post earlier Marcia. There is a family legend that HG Wells was a cousin of a great grandfather, which my mother believed and my aunt didn’t. They did both come from south London, but I expect HG had lots of cousins…

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    • That’s interesting, Janet! And the fact that you were kidnapped by aliens today, causing you to miss out on the contest, leads me to believe your mother may have been correct. 😀 But mark your calendar for next week. You might get lucky. ALSO, given some of the other tales by your mom’s cousin, it’s quite possible another of his works might turn up in this quiz at a future date. 😀 Good luck!! 🙂

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  2. Yay! I’m thrilled with my prize, which is book 2 in the Wake-Robin Ridge series. Congrats to Darlene and Trish, too. Thanks for some Friday fun, Marcia 😊

    I watched a BBC serialisation of this late last year. I really must re-read the book!

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    • I’ve never seen either movie nor read the book! But I’m familiar with many references to this and other H. G. Wells works. And I just loved how he turned an entire paragraph into his opening sentence. 😀 Congratulations on winning, Harmony, and I’m very glad you are happy with your book! 🙂 ❤

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  7. I was working all day today, so missed it. I could have told you the book within 3 words – I can still hear it being read by Richard Burton on the Jeff Wayne’s musical version – one of my favourite albums for decades.

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  8. I wouldn’t have gotten this one, and although I’ve seen several adaptions of the book, I’ve never read it. I should correct that at some point in the future.
    Great choice, Marcia, and congrats to the winners!

    Liked by 2 people

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    • I’m always happy when we get winners, Mae, though two more would have been great. I’ve added this to my TBR pile, though when I think I’ll have time for it, I’m not sure. Still, I enjoy studying these opening lines and wondering how I can use some of the techniques in mine. Hope everyone looks at them like that. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!

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