Invasion literature (also the invasion novel) is a

literary genre A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from more abstract, encompassing classes, which are then further sub-divided ...

that was popular in the period between 1871 and the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

(1914–1918). The invasion novel first was recognized as a literary genre in the UK, with the novella '' The Battle of Dorking: Reminiscences of a Volunteer'' (1871), an account of a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

invasion of England, which, in the Western world, aroused the national imaginations and anxieties about hypothetical invasions by foreign powers; by 1914 the genre of invasion literature comprised more than 400 novels and stories.. The genre was influential in Britain in shaping politics, national policies, and popular perceptions in the years leading up to the First World War, and remains a part of popular culture to this day. Several of the books were written by or ghostwritten for military officers and experts of the day who believed that the nation would be saved if the particular tactic that they favoured was or would be adopted.

Pre-"Dorking"

Nearly a century before the invasion literature genre became a true popular phenomenon after the publication of ''The Battle of Dorking'' in 1871, a mini-boom of invasion stories appeared soon after the French developed the hot-air balloon. Poems and plays that centred on armies of balloons invading England could be found in France, and even America. However, it was not until the Prussians used advanced technologies such as breech-loading artillery and railroads to defeat the French in the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 that the fear of invasion by a technologically superior enemy became more realistic.

In Europe

One of those stories is a history of the sudden and terrible invasion of England by the French, in the month of May, 1852, According to I.F. Clarke: Many feared that military weakness at home would invite attack from abroad; and for the rest of the century not a decade passed without an alarm of some kind about the dangers pressing upon the nation. After the coup d’état by Louis Napoleon, for instance, there were general fears that the French might attempt an invasion. In order to demonstrate the defenceless condition of the country an anonymous author wrote A History of the sudden and terrible invasion of England by the French … in May 1852 ( London, 1851). This was the first complete imaginary war of the future to be written in English, and it anticipated Chesney’s technique of giving a detailed account of the weaknesses that led to the disaster. The novella, '' The Battle of Dorking: Reminiscences of a Volunteer'' (1871), by

George Tomkyns Chesney Sir George Tomkyns Chesney (30 April 1830 – 31 March 1895) was a British Army general, politician, and writer of fiction. He is remembered as the author of the novella '' The Battle of Dorking'' (1871), a founding work in the genre of invasi ...

was first published in ''

Blackwood's Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine''. The first number appeared in April 18 ...

'', a respected political journal of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edward ...

. ''The Battle of Dorking'' describes the invasion of England by an unnamed enemy (who speak German), in which the narrator and a thousand citizens defend the town of

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp ...

, with neither supplies, ''matériel'', or news of outside world. The narrative of the story then moves forward fifty years in time, and England remains devastated. The author, like many of his countrymen at the time, was alarmed by

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

's successful invasion of France in 1870, defeating Europe's largest army in only two months. ''The Battle of Dorking'' was initially meant to shock readers into becoming more aware of the possible dangers of a foreign threat, but unwittingly created a new literary genre appealing to popular anxieties. The story was an immediate success, with one reviewer saying "We do not know that we ever saw anything better in any magazine... it describes exactly what we all feel." It was so popular that the magazine was re-printed six times, a new pamphlet version was created, dozens of spoofs were created, and it was for sale throughout the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading post ...

. One running joke in England at the time was an injury, such as a bruise or scrape, being attributed to a wound received at the battle of Dorking. Between the publication of ''The Battle of Dorking'' in 1871 and the start of the

in 1914 there were hundreds of authors writing invasion literature, often topping the best seller lists in Germany,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, England and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. During the period it is estimated over 400 invasion works were published. Probably the best known work was H. G. Wells's ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by '' Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...

'' (1897), bearing plot similarities to ''The Battle of Dorking'' but with a science fiction theme. In 1907, Wells wrote '' The War in the Air'', a cautionary tale depicting purely human invasions: a German invasion of the US triggers off a worldwide chain of attacks and counter-attacks, leading to the destruction of all major cities and centers, the collapse of world economy, disintegration of all the fighting nations and the sinking of the world into new Middle Ages. ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...

'' (1897) also tapped into English fears of foreign forces arriving unopposed on its shores, although between 1870 and 1903 the majority of these works assumed that the enemy would be France, rather than Germany. This changed with the publication of Erskine Childers's 1903 novel '' The Riddle of the Sands''. Often called the first modern

spy novel Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intellige ...

, two men on a sailing holiday thwart a German invasion of England when they discover a secret fleet of invasion barges assembling on the German coast. Of these hundreds of authors, few are in print now.

Saki Hector Hugh Munro (18 December 1870 – 14 November 1916), better known by the pen name Saki and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirize Edwardian society and cultu ...

is one of the exceptions, although his 1913 novel '' When William Came'' (subtitled "A Story of London Under the Hohenzollerns") is more jingoistic than literary. Another is John Buchan, whose novel '' The Thirty-Nine Steps'', published in 1915 but written just prior to the outbreak of World War I, is a thriller dealing with German agents in Britain preparing for an invasion. William Le Queux was the most prolific author of the genre; his first novel was ''

The Great War in England in 1897 ''The Great War in England in 1897'' was written by William Le Queux and published in 1894. Le Queux's work is an early example of Invasion literature genre, which began with ''The Battle of Dorking'' in 1871, where the British are soundly def ...

'' (1894) and he went on to publish from one to twelve novels a year until his death in 1927. His work was regularly serialised in newspapers, particularly the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'', and attracted many readers. It is believed Ian Fleming's

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

character was inspired by Le Queux's agent "Duckworth Drew". In some ways ''The Great War'' can be considered an antithesis to ''The Battle of Dorking'' – with the one ending for Britain in sombre and irrevocable defeat and decline, while in the other the invasion of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

is pushed back in the last moment (with the help of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, portrayed as a staunch ally against

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

), with enormous territorial aggrandizement (Britain gets

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

and Russian

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...

; "Britannia" becomes "Empress of the World"). Le Queux's most popular invasion novel was ''

The Invasion of 1910 ''The Invasion of 1910'' is a 1906 novel written mainly by William Le Queux (along with H. W. Wilson providing the naval chapters). It is one of the most famous examples of invasion literature. It is viewed by some as an example of pre-World W ...

'' (1906) which was translated into twenty-seven languages selling more than a million copies world-wide. Le Queux and his publisher changed the ending depending on the language, so in the German print edition the fatherland wins, while in the English edition the Germans lose. Le Queux was said to be Queen Alexandra's favorite author. P. G. Wodehouse parodied the genre in ''

The Swoop! ''The Swoop!, or How Clarence Saved England'' is a short comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom by Alston Rivers Ltd, London, on 16 April 1909.McIlvaine, E., Sherby, L.S. and Heineman, J.H. (1990) ''P.G. Wodehou ...

'', in which England is simultaneously invaded by nine different armies, including Switzerland and Germany. English elites appear to be more interested in a cricket tournament, and the country is eventually saved by a boy scout named Clarence. In France, Émile Driant writing as Capitaine Danrit, wrote of future wars opposing France to Great Britain (La Guerre Fatale) or to Germany (La Guerre de Demain).

In Asia

Invasion literature had its impact also in Japan, at the time undergoing a fast process of

modernization Modernization theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies. The "classical" theories of modernization of the 1950s and 1960s drew on sociological analyses of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and a partial reading of Max Weber, ...

. Shunrō Oshikawa, a pioneer of Japanese

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

and adventure stories (genres unknown in Japan until a few years earlier), published around the start of the 20th century the best-seller ''Kaitō Bōken Kidan: Kaitei Gunkan'' ("Undersea Battleship"): the story of an armoured, ram-armed submarine involved in a

future history A future history is a postulated history of the future and is used by authors of science fiction and other speculative fiction to construct a common background for fiction. Sometimes the author publishes a timeline of events in the history, whi ...

of war between Japan and Russia. The novel reflected the

imperialist Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...

ambitions of Japan at the time, and foreshadowed the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

that followed a few years later, in 1904. The story would notably be the main source of inspiration for the 1963 science-fiction movie '' Atragon'', by Ishiro Honda. When the actual war with Russia broke out, Oshikawa covered it as a journalist while also continuing to publish further volumes of fiction depicting Japanese imperial exploits set in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

– which also proved an enormous success with the Japanese public. In a later career as a magazine editor, he also encouraged the writing of more fiction in the same vein by other Japanese authors. Colonial

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

's earliest work of invasion literature is believed to have been the 1897 '' The Back Door''. Published in serial form in a local English-language newspaper, it described a fictional French and Russian naval landing at Hong Kong Island's Deep Water Bay; the story was intended to criticise the lack of British funding for the defence of Hong Kong, and it is speculated that members of the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor ...

may have read the book in preparation for the 1941

Battle of Hong Kong The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II. On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, forces of the ...

In the US

One of the earliest invasion stories to appear in print in the US was "The Stricken Nation" by

Henry Grattan Donnelly Henry Grattan Donnelly (1850–1931) was an author and playwright born in Baltimore, Maryland. Named after the Irish politician Henry Grattan, Donnelly traveled West and became a reporter for the ''Omaha Bee'' when he was in his late teens. Wh ...

published in 1890 in New York. It tells of a successful invasion of the US by the UK. The move of U.S. public opinion towards participation in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

was reflected in ''Uncle Sam's Boys at The Invasion of the United States'' by H. Irving Hancock. This four-book series, published by the Henry Altemus Company in 1916, depicts a German invasion of the US in 1920 and 1921. The plot seems to transfer the main story line of Le Queux's ''The Great War'' (with which the writer may have been familiar) to a US theatre: the Germans launch a surprise attack, capture

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

despite heroic resistance by "Uncle Sam's boys", overrun all of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and reach as far as

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

– but at last are gloriously crushed by fresh US forces.

In Australia

Australia's contribution to invasion literature was set against the background of pre-

Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...

colonial fears of the "

Yellow Peril The Yellow Peril (also the Yellow Terror and the Yellow Specter) is a racist, racial color terminology for race, color metaphor that depicts the peoples of East Asia, East and Southeast Asia as an existential danger to the Western world. As a ...

" and the foundations of the

White Australia policy The White Australia policy is a term encapsulating a set of historical policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin, especially Asians (primarily Chinese) and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, starting ...

. From the late 1880s through to the beginning of World War I, this fear was expressed in Australia through cartoons, poems, plays and novels. Three of the most well known of these novels were ''White or Yellow? A Story of the Race War of AD 1908'' (1888) by journalist William Lane, ''The Yellow Wave'' (1895) by Kenneth Mackay and ''The Australian Crisis'' (1909) by Charles H. Kirmess (possibly a pseudonym for another Australian author Frank Fox). Each of these novels contained two major common themes which were a reflection of the fears and concerns within a contemporary Australian context; the Australian continent was at risk of major invasion from a strong Asian power (ie. China or Japan, sometimes with the assistance of the Russian Empire) and that the United Kingdom was apathetic towards the protection of its faraway colonies, and would not come to Australia's aid when needed.

After World War I

The "

First Red Scare The First Red Scare was a period during the early 20th-century history of the United States marked by a widespread fear of far-left movements, including Bolshevism and anarchism, due to real and imagined events; real events included the Ru ...

" following

produced Edgar Rice Burroughs's '' The Moon Men'' (1925), a depiction of Earth (and specifically, the United States) under the rule of cruel invaders from the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...

. This book is known to have been originally written as ''Under the Red Flag'', an explicit

anti-Communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and th ...

novel, and when rejected by the publishers in that form it was successfully "recycled" by Burroughs as science fiction.

Ivan Petrushevich Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

's "

The Flying Submarine ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

" (1922) depicts an invasion of the United Kingdom by Soviet forces after most of Europe and Asia fall to communism. The story features the British fleet being destroyed by a swarm of insect-like single pilot submarines, which can emerge from the water to attack their foes. Robert A. Heinlein's '' Sixth Column'' (1941) told the story of the invasion and conquest of the United States by the technologically advanced PanAsians, and the subsequent guerrilla struggle to overthrow them with even more advanced technology.

The Cold War

In the 1950s, US fears of Communist invasion were notable in the novel '' The Puppet Masters'' (1951), by Robert A. Heinlein, the movie '' Invasion, USA'' (1952), directed by

Alfred E. Green Alfred Edward Green (July 11, 1889 – September 4, 1960) was an American film director. Green entered film in 1912 as an actor for the Selig Polyscope Company. He became an assistant to director Colin Campbell. He then started to direct two-reel ...

, and the US defence department propaganda film '' Red Nightmare'' (1957), directed by George Waggner. An explicit invasion-and-occupation scenario is presented in ''Point Ultimate'' (1955), by Jerry Sohl, about life in the Soviet-occupied US of 1999. In the 1960s, the invasion literature enemy changed from the political threat of Communist infiltration and indoctrination from and conquest by the Soviets, to the 19th-century

of "Red China" (the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...

) who threaten the economy, the political stability, and the physical integrity of the US, and thus of the Western world. In '' Goldfinger'' (1964) Communist China provides the villain with a dirty

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...

to irradiate and render useless the gold bullion that is the basis of the US economy. In '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967), the PRC disrupts the geopolitical balance between the US and the Soviets, by the kidnap of their respective spacecraft in outer space, to provoke a nuclear war, which would allow Chinese global supremacy. In '' Battle Beneath the Earth'' (1967), the PRC attempt to invade the US proper by way of a tunnel beneath the Pacific Ocean. In 1971, when the US began acknowledging that the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

(1945–1975) was a loss, two books depicting the Soviet occupation of the continental US were published; the cautionary tale ''Vandenberg'' (1971), by

Oliver Lange John Warren Wadleigh (1927–2013), best known by his pen name Oliver Lange, was an American author, artist, and art critic based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is best known for his 1971 novel ''Vandenberg''. Life Wadleigh was born and raised i ...

, wherein most of the US accepts the Soviet overlord without much protest, and the only armed resistance is by guerrillas in New Mexico; and ''

The First Team The First Team were the first players known to have played the sport of basketball, having been taught the game in 1891 by James Naismith, who is recognized as the inventor of the sport. The team comprised 18 players who were studying in Springf ...

'' (1971), by John Ball, which depicts a hopeless situation resolved by a band of patriots, which concludes with the country's liberation. The film '' Red Dawn'' (1984) depicts a Soviet/Cuban invasion of the United States and a band of high school students who resist them. The television miniseries '' Amerika'' (1987), directed by Donald Wrye, which depicts life in the US a decade after the Soviet conquest. The ''

Tomorrow Tomorrow may refer to: * Tomorrow (time), the day after today * The future, that which occurs after the present Periodicals * ''To-Morrow'' (Chicago magazine), a magazine from 1903 to 1909 * ''Tomorrow'' (New Zealand magazine), a left-wing ma ...

'' series (1993–1999) by John Marsden, details the perspective of adolescent guerrillas fighting against the invasion of Australia, by an unnamed country (implied to be Indonesia).

Political impact

Stories of a planned German invasion rose to increasing political prominence from 1906. Taking their inspiration from the stories of Le Queux and Childers, hundreds of ordinary citizens began to suspect foreigners of espionage. This trend was accentuated by Le Queux, who collected 'sightings' brought to his attention by readers and raised them through his association with the Daily Mail. Subsequent research has since shown that no significant German espionage network existed in Britain at this time. Claims about the scale of German invasion preparations grew increasingly ambitious. The number of German spies was put at between 60,000 and 300,000 (in spite of the total German community in Britain being no more than 44,000 people). It was alleged that thousands of rifles were being stockpiled by German spies in order to arm saboteurs at the outbreak of war. Calls for government action grew ever more intense, and in 1909 it was given as the reason for the secret foundation of the

Secret Service Bureau The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

, the forerunner of MI5 and MI6. Historians today debate whether this was in fact the real reason, but in any case the concerns raised in invasion literature came to define the early duties of the Bureau's Home Section.

Vernon Kell Major General Sir Vernon George Waldegrave Kell, (21 November 1873 – 27 March 1942) was a British Army general and the founder and first Director of the British Security Service, otherwise known as MI5. Known as K, he was described in '' ...

, the section head, remained obsessed with the location of these saboteurs, focusing his operational plans both before and during the war on defeating the saboteurs imagined by Le Queux. Invasion literature was not without detractors; policy experts in the years preceding the First World War said invasion literature risked inciting war between England and Germany and France. Critics such as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman ( né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. He served as the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 t ...

denounced Le Queux's ''

'' as "calculated to inflame public opinion abroad and alarm the more ignorant public at home." Journalist Charles Lowe wrote in 1910: "Among all the causes contributing to the continuance of a state of bad blood between England and Germany perhaps the most potent is the baneful industry of those unscrupulous writers who are forever asserting that the Germans are only awaiting a fitting opportunity to attack us in our island home and burst us up."

Notable invasion literature

Pre-World War I

*''Coming events cast their shadows before.” A history of the sudden and terrible invasion of England by the French, in the month of May, 1852'' (1851) by an unknown author *''

The Invasion of England – A Possible Tale of Future Times, ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

''(1870) by

Alfred Bates Richards Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

*'' The Battle of Dorking'' (1871) by

* ''Chapters from Future History: The Battle of Berlin'' (1871) by M. R. McCauley * ''The Invasion'' (1877)

W. H. Walker W. may refer to: * SoHo (Australian TV channel) (previously W.), an Australian pay television channel * ''W.'' (film), a 2008 American biographical drama film based on the life of George W. Bush * "W.", the fifth track from Codeine's 1992 EP ''Bar ...

*''

A Catástrofe A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' (ca. 1878) by

José Maria Eça de Queiroz José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

*'' La Guerre de demain'' (1888) by Émile Driant *

The battle of the Swash and the capture of Canada ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

(1888) by

Barton Samuel Barton may refer to: Places Australia * Barton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Division of Barton, an electoral district in New South Wales * Barton, Victoria, a locality near Moyston Canada * Barton, Newfoundland and L ...

*''

The Battle of Mordialloo ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'' (1888) by

Samuel Mullen Samuel Mullen (27 November 1828 – 29 May 1890) was an Irish-born bookseller, active in Australia.J. P. Holroyd,Mullen, Samuel (1828 – 1890), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Vol. 5, Melbourne University Press, 1974, pp 309-310. Retrieve ...

*'' White or Yellow? A Story of the Race War of AD 1908'' (1888) by William Lane *''

The Stricken Nation ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

'' (1890) by

*''

The Germ Growers ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speak ...

'' (1892) by Robert Potter *''

Hartmann the Anarchist ''Hartmann the Anarchist or The Doom of the Great City'' is a science fiction novel by Edward Douglas Fawcett first published in 1893.Hartmann the Anarchist, Tangent Books, 2009. It remained out of print for over 100 years and has only recentl ...

'' (1893) by Edward Douglas Fawcett *''

The Angel of the Revolution George Griffith (1857–1906), full name George Chetwynd Griffith-Jones, was a prolific British science fiction writer and noted explorer who wrote during the late Victorian and Edwardian age. Many of his visionary tales appeared in magazin ...

'' (1893) by

George Griffith George Griffith (1857–1906), full name George Chetwynd Griffith-Jones, was a prolific British science fiction writer and noted explorer who wrote during the late Victorian and Edwardian age. Many of his visionary tales appeared in magazine ...

* Olga Romanoff (1894) by

*''The Captain of the Mary Rose'' (1894) by William Laird Clowes *''

'' (1894) by William Le Queux *''

The Yellow Wave ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'' (1895) by Kenneth Mackay *''The Final War'' (1896) by

Louis Tracy Louis Tracy (1863–1928) was a British journalist, and prolific writer of fiction. He used the pseudonyms Gordon Holmes and Robert Fraser, which were at times shared with M. P. Shiel, a collaborator from the start of the twentieth century. He ...

*'' Briton or Boer? A Tale of the Fight for Africa'' (1897) by

*'' The Back Door'' (1897) by

Anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anonym ...

*''

The Yellow Danger ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

'' (1898) by

M. P. Shiel Matthew Phipps Shiell (21 July 1865 – 17 February 1947), known as M. P. Shiel, was a British writer. His legal surname remained "Shiell" though he adopted the shorter version as a ''de facto'' pen name. He is remembered mainly for supernatura ...

*''

'' (1898) by H. G. Wells *'' The Celestial Hand: A Sensational Story'' (1903) by Joyce Vincent *'' The Riddle of the Sands'' (1903) by Erskine Childers *''

'' (1906) by William Le Queux *''

The Australian Crisis ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

'' (1907) by

C. H. Kirmess C. or c. may refer to: * Century, sometimes abbreviated as ''c.'' or ''C.'', a period of 100 years * Cent (currency), abbreviated ''c.'' or ''¢'', a monetary unit that equals of the basic unit of many currencies * Caius or Gaius, abbreviated as ...

*'' The War in the Air'' (1908) by H. G. Wells *''

Swoop of the Vulture Swoop may refer to: Entertainment * Swoop (Australian band), a 1991 rock, funk and disco band * Swoop (Belgian band), a 2001 party band * Swoop (video game), ''Swoop'' (video game), 1982 clone of ''Galaxian'' * ''The Swoop!'', a novel by P. G. Wo ...

'' (1909) by James Blyth *''

Spies of the Kaiser Spies most commonly refers to people who engage in spying, espionage or clandestine operations. Spies or The Spies may also refer to: * Spies (surname), a German surname * Spies (band), a jazz fusion band * "Spies" (song), a song by Coldplay * ...

'' (1909) by William Le Queux *''

'' or How Clarence Saved England: A Tale of the Great Invasion (1909), by P. G. Wodehouse *''

White Australia or, The empty North White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

'' (1909) by Randolph Bedford * '' The Unparalleled Invasion'' (1910) by

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

*''The Yellow Peril'' (1911) by

G.G. Rupert GG may refer to: Gaming * GG (gaming), an abbreviation used in video games meaning "good game" * GameGuard, a hacking protection program used in some MMORPGs * Game Gear, a handheld game console released by SEGA * Game Genie, a video game cheat ...

*''

Private Selby ''Private Selby'' is a 1912 thriller novel by the British writer Edgar Wallace. It was one of a number of books and plays written before the First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was o ...

'' (1912) by

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

*'' The Air Scout: A Tale of National Defense'' (1912) by Strang, H. *'' The Air Patrol: A Tale of the North-West Frontier'' (1913) by Strang, H. *'' When William Came'' (1913) by

*'' The World Set Free'' (1914) by H. G. Wells *''

All For His Country All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All al ...

'' (1915) by John Ulrich Giesy *'' The Fall of a Nation'' (1916) by

Thomas Dixon Jr. Thomas Frederick Dixon Jr. (January 11, 1864 – April 3, 1946) was an American white supremacist, Baptist minister, politician, lawyer, lecturer, novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Referred to as a "professional racist", Dixon wrote two best ...

*''

Conquest of the United States Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...

'' (1916) by H. Irving Hancock *'' Before Armageddon: An Anthology of Victorian and Edwardian Imaginative Fiction Published Before 1914'' edited by

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English people, English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy fiction, fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic nov ...

(1975) *''

England Invaded ''England Invaded'' is an anthology of imaginative fiction, including invasion literature, from the Victorian era, Victorian and Edwardian periods, edited by British author Michael Moorcock. Originally published in hardback by W. H. Allen in 1977 ...

'' (1977), a collection of six popular invasion literature stories, edited by Michael Moorcock, published in 1977

Post-World War I

* ''

The Terror of the Air ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

'' by William Le Queux (1920) * ''

'' by

Ivan Petrushevich's Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

(1922) * ''

Beneath an Ardent sun Beneath may refer to: * ''Beneath'' (2007 film), directed by Dagen Merrill * ''Beneath'' (2013 film), a thriller film by Larry Fessenden *''Beneath'', a 2013 film directed by Ben Ketai * ''Beneath'' (Amoral album), 2011 *Beneath (Infant Island alb ...

'' (1923) by

Sir Frank James Fox ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

* '' The Moon Men'' by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1925) * ''

The Tunnel Thru the Air; Or, Looking Back from 1940 ''The Tunnel Thru the Air, Or, Looking Back from 1940'' is a science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as ...

'' by William Delbert Gann (1927) * '' Armageddon 2419 A.D.'' by Philip Francis Nowlan (1928) * ''

The Airlords of Han ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'' by Philip Francis Nowlan (1929) * '' The Red Napoleon'' by Floyd Gibbons (1929) * ''

A Fantasy A.D. 1975, A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' (1933) by Pullar's Celestalia * ''The Awakening'' (1937) by

G. D. Mitchell’s G is the seventh letter of the Latin alphabet. G may also refer to: Places * Gabon, international license plate code G * Glasgow, UK postal code G * Eastern Quebec, Canadian postal prefix G * Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, ...

* '' Fools’ Harvest'' (1939) by Erle Cox’s * ''

The Death Guard ''The Death Guard'' is the only published novel of the English author Philip George Chadwick (1893 in Batley, Yorkshire – 1955 in Brighton, Sussex). Although the author is virtually unknown to the wider public, his work has received attenti ...

'' by

Philip George Chadwick ''The Death Guard'' is the only published novel of the English author Philip George Chadwick (1893 in Batley, Yorkshire – 1955 in Brighton, Sussex). Although the author is virtually unknown to the wider public, his work has received attenti ...

(1939) * '' Sixth Column'' by Robert A. Heinlein (1941) * '' The Puppet Masters'' by Robert A. Heinlein (1951) * '' Not This August'' by

C.M. Kornbluth Cyril M. Kornbluth (July 2, 1923 – March 21, 1958) was an American science fiction author and a member of the Futurians. He used a variety of pen-names, including Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, ...

(1955) * '' Point Ultimate'' by Jerry Sohl (1955) * ''

A Time to die A time to die is a phrase from Chapter 3 of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. A Time to Die or Time to Die may also refer to: Film and television * ''A Time to Die'' (1982 film), a 1982 film by Matt Cimber * ''Time to Die'' (1985 film), a ...

'' (1967) by

Kap Pothan's Kap or KAP may refer to: People * K. Appavu Pillai (1911–1973), Indian politician * Gabe Kapler (born 1975), American baseball player Places * Kąp, Gmina Giżycko, Poland * Kąp, Gmina Miłki, Poland Organizations * Communist Workers Party (De ...

* ''The Invasion'' (1968) by john hay * ''

A Piece of Resistance A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' (1970) by

Clive Egleton Clive (Frederick William) Egleton (1927–2006) was a British author of spy novels. He enlisted in the Royal Armoured Corps in 1945 to train as a tank driver while still underage. He was subsequently commissioned into the South Staffordshire Regi ...

* ''The First Team'' (1971) by John Ball * ''Vandenberg'' (1971) by

* ''

Rule Britannia (novel) ''Rule Britannia'' is Daphne du Maurier's last novel,Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was Georg ...

* ''Operaatio Finlandia'' by Arto Paasilinna (1972) * ''A Nasty Little War'' (1979) by Page Michael * ''The Third World War: August 1985'' (1978) and '' The Third World War: The Untold Story'' (1982) by General Sir John Hackett * '' The Survivalist'' series (1981–1993) by Jerry Ahern * '' Red Army (novel)'' (1989) by Ralph Peters * ''An Act of War'' (1990) by Michael O'Connor *''Below the Line'' by Eric Willmot (1991) *''

'' series (1993–1999) by John Marsden *'' The Ashes'' series (1983–2003) by

William W. Johnstone William Wallace Johnstone (October 28, 1938 – February 8, 2004) was an American author most known for his western, horror and survivalist novels. Life and career Early life Born and raised in southern Missouri, Johnstone was the youngest ...

* ''

Protect and Defend Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although t ...

'' (1999) by Eric L. Harry * '' Invasion (Harry novel)'' by Eric L. Harry (2000) * ''

Crescent Moon Rising A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the " sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on hi ...

'' by

Kerry B. Collison Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

(2005) * '' A Line Too Far: Australia is invaded'' (2016)

B C Colman B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It rep ...

Footnotes

References

* * * *

External links

*Clarke, I.F., 1997
"Future War Fiction"
An award-winning essay. *Clarke, I.F., 1997

*

(1871)
''The Battle of Dorking''
London, G. Richards ltd., 1914, introduction by

G. H. Powell G is the seventh letter of the Latin alphabet. G may also refer to: Places * Gabon, international license plate code G * Glasgow, UK postal code G * Eastern Quebec, Canadian postal prefix G * Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, ...

. From

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music ...

. *Patrick M. Kirkwood
"The Impact of Fiction on Public Debate in Late Victorian Britain: The Battle of Dorking and the 'Lost Career' of Sir George Tomkyns Chesney"
The Graduate History Review 4, No. 1 (Fall, 2012), 1-16. {{DEFAULTSORT:Invasion Literature Fiction by genre Military fiction

Pre-"Dorking"

In Europe

In Asia

In the US

In Australia

After World War I

The Cold War

Political impact

Notable invasion literature

Pre-World War I

Post-World War I

See also

Footnotes

References

External links