FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!

HG Wells' "War of the Worlds" Trivia Quiz

The "War of the Worlds" was a seminal work, one of the forerunners of modern science fiction. Although it has been poorly represented on the screen to this day, the book has stood the test of time. Now test yourself!

A multiple-choice quiz by Ajax23. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
Ajax23

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
252,230

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
7 / 15

Plays
909

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 173 (12/15), Guest 90 (2/15), Davo8 (10/15).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. In which year was "War of the Worlds" published in London? Hint

1878

1938

1898

1918

NEXT>

Question 2 of 15

2. Who is the narrator of the book? Hint

He is un-named

Henderson

Ogilvy

Stent

3. In which daily newspaper (still going strong today!) did a "little note" inform us that: "...a huge outbreak of incandescent gas....suddenly and violently squirted out of the planet...as flames rush out of a gun." Hint

The Daily Telegraph

The Guardian

The Times

The Observer

NEXT>

Question 4 of 15

4. Who first discovers the Martian 'canister'? Hint

The Narrator

Henderson

Ogilvy

Shelby

NEXT>

Question 5 of 15

5. Why did the Martians leave their home planet and invade Earth? Hint

The previous century had seen a 1000% increase in the Martian population

They desired Earth and all its riches

Mars began to cool off.

It was part of an inter-galactic invasion plan

NEXT>

Question 6 of 15

6. To combat the "Men from Mars", which Regiment (of 400) was dispatched to form a cordon around Horsell Common? Hint

The Grenadier Guards

The Cardigan Regiment

Queen Victoria's Royal Rifles

The Royal Green Jackets

NEXT>

Question 7 of 15

7. Where did the first Martian canister land? Hint

Horsell Common

Headley Common

Ranmore Common

Bookham Common

NEXT>

Question 8 of 15

8. How many days were the narrator and the curate trapped in a house on the edge of the pit? Hint

NEXT>

Question 9 of 15

9. Who was the first victim of the Martian attack? Hint

An artilleryman

A curate

An astronomer from Ottershaw

A group of men

NEXT>

Question 10 of 15

10. Where did people jump into the river to escape the Martian 'heat ray'? Hint

Leatherhead

Byfleet

Dorking

Weybridge & Shepperton

NEXT>

Question 11 of 15

11. What was the name of the ship that destroyed a tripod in a valiant but futile attempt to save fleeing refugees? Hint

HMS Polyphemus

HMS Dreadnought

HMS Ocean

HMS Thunder Child

NEXT>

Question 12 of 15

12. Where did the battle take place between Thunder Child and the tripods? Hint

Tillingham Bay

West Mersea Bay

Chelmer Bay

Maldon Sound

NEXT>

Question 13 of 15

13. According to the book, how many canisters were fired at the Earth by the Martians? Hint

100

NEXT>

Question 14 of 15

14. What was the narrator singing when he was found "wandering, weeping and raving" by a house of kindly people in St John's Wood? Hint

The last man left alive

Pretty little Polly Perkins of Paddington Green

God save the Queen

Home sweet home

NEXT>

Question 15 of 15

15. Where was the site of the Martians last encampment? Hint

Chelsea

Primrose Hill

Kensington

Blackheath

(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

Select a User ID:

Choose a Password:

Your Email:

Most Recent Scores

Nov 05 2024 : Guest 173: 12/15
Nov 03 2024 : Guest 90: 2/15
Oct 30 2024 : Davo8: 10/15
Oct 30 2024 : Josie9: 3/15
Oct 30 2024 : Finbarr0: 7/15
Oct 30 2024 : Barbs1: 12/15
Oct 30 2024 : NixB8: 5/15
Oct 29 2024 : Guest 88: 5/15
Oct 22 2024 : Guest 81: 6/15

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In which year was "War of the Worlds" published in London?

Answer: 1898

Despite the book being written while the 'Old Queen' was still on the throne, it was way ahead of its time. It reflected the fears of the balance of power in Europe at the time, which was to explode in the Great War in 1914. The book was dedicated to Frank Wells (HG's brother) and reads: "The rendering of his idea"

2. Who is the narrator of the book?

Answer: He is un-named

No clue is given as to the identity of the narrator.

Answer: The Daily Telegraph

Little more notice was really taken of the events around 12th August 1900. "The Telegraph", though not the oldest newspaper (that title goes to the "Observer" - the oldest in the world!) is still going strong today.

4. Who first discovers the Martian 'canister'?

Answer: Ogilvy

Ogilvy got up early in the morning and discovered the 'meteorite' in sandpits that lay between Horsell, Ottershaw and Woking. The area of Horsell common is pretty much the same today as it was in the 1890s. I still walk my dog there, and so is the sandpit.

5. Why did the Martians leave their home planet and invade Earth?

Answer: Mars began to cool off.

"The secular cooling that must some day overtake our own planet has already gone far indeed with our neighbour" The gradual cooling down of Mars had turned the war-like creatures attention to our own, warmer, invitingly lush planet.

6. To combat the "Men from Mars", which Regiment (of 400) was dispatched to form a cordon around Horsell Common?

Answer: The Cardigan Regiment

By 11:00 the next day; a squadron of Hussars, two Maxims and about 400 men of the Cardigan Regiment were deployed from Aldershot. The 'Home' of the British Army.

7. Where did the first Martian canister land?

Answer: Horsell Common

Horsell Common today, is very much as HG would have known it. It is part of a lengthy network of commons and open areas that have been in existence since Saxon times.

8. How many days were the narrator and the curate trapped in a house on the edge of the pit?

Answer: 15

After hiding in the rubble he finally emerges, and after an encounter with a dog, he views the landscape. Seeing no Martians on the horizon he decides to risk venturing forth.

9. Who was the first victim of the Martian attack?

Answer: A group of men

The narrator first sees the Heat-Ray of the Martians on Horsell Common, when it opened up on a deputation sporting a white flag. "It was as if each man suddenly and momentarily turned to fire".

10. Where did people jump into the river to escape the Martian 'heat ray'?

Answer: Weybridge & Shepperton

On the arrival of 5 Martian fighting machines, people huddled on the river bank & panicked. The surge of the mass of humanity forces them into the water, the only available cover. They rushed right along "the gravelly beach and headlong into the water. Others did the same."

11. What was the name of the ship that destroyed a tripod in a valiant but futile attempt to save fleeing refugees?

Answer: HMS Thunder Child

Thunder Child was described as a 'Torpedo-Ram'. The only example of this at the time was HMS Polyphemus (1881); but it was Thunder Child that "....streaming headlong, coming to the rescue of threatened shipping" destroyed the tripod.

12. Where did the battle take place between Thunder Child and the tripods?

Answer: Tillingham Bay

Tillingham Bay does not actually exist, as Tillingham is actually a few miles inland. But it does mention the mouth of the river Blackwater off the Essex coast in the North Sea.

13. According to the book, how many canisters were fired at the Earth by the Martians?

Answer: 10

We only really hear about the invasion of the British Isles...there undoubtedly would have been more, as the title may suggest.

14. What was the narrator singing when he was found "wandering, weeping and raving" by a house of kindly people in St John's Wood?

Answer: The last man left alive

Describing himself as a "...demented man" he drifted aimlessly amid the red weed strewn ruins of the greatest city in the world until he was "sheltered" and "protected" from himself.

15. Where was the site of the Martians last encampment?

Answer: Primrose Hill

The narrator, pushing his way across a devastated London, crosses Regents Park and heads towards Kilburn. Finally, weary and exhausted, he spies a lone Martian fighting machine (the third "Martian, erect and motionless like the others."). He decides to, finally, end it all and rushes towards the machine. Only to find it motionless.

Source: Author Ajax23

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor trident before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.