''Star Begotten'' is a 1937 science fiction novel by English author

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

(1866-1946). It tells the story of a series of men who conjecture upon the possibility of the human race being genetically modified by

Martian Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. Trends in the planet's portrayal have largely been influenced by advances in planetary science. It became the most popular celes ...

s to replace their own dying planet, beginning with Joseph Davis, an author of popular histories, who suspects that he and his family have already been exposed and are starting to change. The first (British) edition of this novel gives the title as two words: ''Star Begotten''. The title is hyphenated in the first U.S. edition: ''Star-Begotten''. The book revisits the idea of the interaction of humans with Martians, which Wells had first (and famously) presented in ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel was ...

'' (1898). The dialogue of ''Star Begotten'' makes brief references to Wells' earlier novel, referring to it as having been written by "

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

, Conan Doyle, one of those fellows", as well as the concept of Big Brother, later written into

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

's ''

Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also published as ''1984'') is a dystopian novel and cautionary tale by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final completed book. Thematically ...

'' (1949).

In other works

At the end of '' Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds'' (1975),

Professor Challenger George Edward Challenger is a fictional character in a series of fantasy and science fiction stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Unlike Doyle's self-controlled, analytical character, Sherlock Holmes, Professor Challenger is an ...

indicates that the " Martians" (not really from Mars in the story) from ''The War of the Worlds'' are the same Martians from ''Star Begotten'', and hints at the start of the Martian alteration program. It is possible that

John Wyndham John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his name ...

's '' The Midwich Cuckoos'' (1957), adapted as '' Village of the Damned'' in 1960, was similarly influenced by ''Star Begotten''. In Nigel Kneale's 1958-59 BBC television serial '' Quatermass and the Pit'' and its 1967 movie adaptation, a discovery of strange fossils reveals that human evolution was altered by a dying race of Martians, in order to leave a legacy behind. This may have been inspired by the tale of H. G. Wells.

References

External links

* 1937 British novels 1937 science fiction novels British science fiction novels Novels about extraterrestrial life Novels about genetic engineering Novels by H. G. Wells War of the Worlds written fiction Chatto & Windus books {{1930s-sf-novel-stub