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The Great War in England in 1897
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321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1894
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53 people want to read
About the author
William Le Queux
429 books29 followersWilliam Tufnell Le Queux was born in London on 2 July 1864. His father, also William of Chateauroux, Indre, was a French draper's assistant and his mother was English.
He was educated in Europe and studied art under Ignazio Spiridon in Paris. He walked extensively in France and Germany and supported himself for a time writing for French newspapers. It was one of his sensational stories in 'The Petit Journal' that attracted the attention of the French novelist Emile Zola and it was supposedly he who encouraged Le Queux to become a full-time writer.
In the late 1880s he returned to London where he edited the magazines 'Gossip' and 'Piccadilly' before joining the staff of the newspaper 'The Globe' in 1891 as a parliamentary reporter. But he resigned in 1893 and decided to abandon journalism to concentrate on writing and travelling. And his extensive travelling saw him visit Russia, the Near East, North Africa, Egypt and the Sudan and in 1912-13 he was a correspondent in the Balkan War for the Daily Mail. On his travels he found it necessary to become an expert revolver shot.
His first book was 'Guilty Bonds' (1891), which concentrated on political conspiracy in Russia to such a degree that it was subsequently banned in that country. A series of short stories 'Strange Tales of a Nihilist' followed in 1892 and from then on he was producing books on a regular basis until his death, and beyond, as a number of posthumous works were published.
His works mainly related to espionage activity and it was said that he was employed for a number of years as a member of the British Secret Service, where he was an expert on wireless transmission. He did claim to have been the first wireless experimenter to have broadcast from his station at Guildford in 1920/21 and he was president of the Wireless Experimental Association and a member of the Institute of Radio Engineers.
He stated at one time that he began writing to help finance his work for British Intelligence for whom he was required to undertake much travelling and to make personal contact with royalty and other high-ranking people. He recorded some of the latter meetings in his autobiography entitled 'Things I Know about Kings, Celebrities and Crooks' (1923).
He was at one time Consul of the Republic of San Marino and he possessed Italian, Serbian and Montenegrin decorations. He was also a keen collector of medieval manuscripts and monastic seals.
However, all his activities did not stop him turning out novel after novel and at the time of his death he had well over 100 books to his credit.
After several weeks' illness, he died at Knocke, Belgium, in the early hours of 13 October 1927. His body was returned to England and on 19 October he was cremated at Golders Green with the Reverend Francis Taylor of Bedford conducting the service, which was attended by Le Queux's brother and a few intimate friends.
Gerry Wolstenholme
January 2013
He was educated in Europe and studied art under Ignazio Spiridon in Paris. He walked extensively in France and Germany and supported himself for a time writing for French newspapers. It was one of his sensational stories in 'The Petit Journal' that attracted the attention of the French novelist Emile Zola and it was supposedly he who encouraged Le Queux to become a full-time writer.
In the late 1880s he returned to London where he edited the magazines 'Gossip' and 'Piccadilly' before joining the staff of the newspaper 'The Globe' in 1891 as a parliamentary reporter. But he resigned in 1893 and decided to abandon journalism to concentrate on writing and travelling. And his extensive travelling saw him visit Russia, the Near East, North Africa, Egypt and the Sudan and in 1912-13 he was a correspondent in the Balkan War for the Daily Mail. On his travels he found it necessary to become an expert revolver shot.
His first book was 'Guilty Bonds' (1891), which concentrated on political conspiracy in Russia to such a degree that it was subsequently banned in that country. A series of short stories 'Strange Tales of a Nihilist' followed in 1892 and from then on he was producing books on a regular basis until his death, and beyond, as a number of posthumous works were published.
His works mainly related to espionage activity and it was said that he was employed for a number of years as a member of the British Secret Service, where he was an expert on wireless transmission. He did claim to have been the first wireless experimenter to have broadcast from his station at Guildford in 1920/21 and he was president of the Wireless Experimental Association and a member of the Institute of Radio Engineers.
He stated at one time that he began writing to help finance his work for British Intelligence for whom he was required to undertake much travelling and to make personal contact with royalty and other high-ranking people. He recorded some of the latter meetings in his autobiography entitled 'Things I Know about Kings, Celebrities and Crooks' (1923).
He was at one time Consul of the Republic of San Marino and he possessed Italian, Serbian and Montenegrin decorations. He was also a keen collector of medieval manuscripts and monastic seals.
However, all his activities did not stop him turning out novel after novel and at the time of his death he had well over 100 books to his credit.
After several weeks' illness, he died at Knocke, Belgium, in the early hours of 13 October 1927. His body was returned to England and on 19 October he was cremated at Golders Green with the Reverend Francis Taylor of Bedford conducting the service, which was attended by Le Queux's brother and a few intimate friends.
Gerry Wolstenholme
January 2013
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 25, 2026
An exciting work about England repelling an invading Franco-Russo horde from its shores in a world war. One chapter has an element of steampunk in it. The part involving fifth columnist is believable. Was good to read this ebook while listening to John Barry's Zulu soundtrack.
November 10, 2017
Le Queux wrote this book in 1894 to highlight what he believed was the UK's weakness in the face of its European rivals. The book hypothesizes a combined Franco-Russian invasion that the UK attempts to fight off with the gallant assistance of Germany, Austria and Italy.
As anyone who knows anything about WWI will know, those alliances are almost exactly opposite to the actual war that began in 1914. Le Queux was more than ready to adapt to the times, though - in 1906 he released another work where the Germans were the perfidious invaders.
That context aside, how's the book?
Pretty bad, honestly. Le Queux's writing is repetitious (I know not how many men were "blown to atoms" in this book, but it was a lot), bombastic (someone should do a word count on the uses of "alas!" and "gallant"), and boy does he love lists. Entire paragraphs are given over to the names and tonnages of ships, and the names and commanders of units fighting on land.
Finally there's the fact that his scenario is farcical in almost every particular. The French and Russians somehow manage to land a joint force of some 300,000 within hours of the declaration of war, without anyone being aware of their plans, and there are at least two moments where the day is saved by the presence of a miraculous one of a kind weapon. I am also rather less convinced of the value of a "pneumatic dynamite gun" than he is.
If it was half the length it would be fun as a bit of Victorian absurdity, but it frankly becomes rather tiresome by the end.
As anyone who knows anything about WWI will know, those alliances are almost exactly opposite to the actual war that began in 1914. Le Queux was more than ready to adapt to the times, though - in 1906 he released another work where the Germans were the perfidious invaders.
That context aside, how's the book?
Pretty bad, honestly. Le Queux's writing is repetitious (I know not how many men were "blown to atoms" in this book, but it was a lot), bombastic (someone should do a word count on the uses of "alas!" and "gallant"), and boy does he love lists. Entire paragraphs are given over to the names and tonnages of ships, and the names and commanders of units fighting on land.
Finally there's the fact that his scenario is farcical in almost every particular. The French and Russians somehow manage to land a joint force of some 300,000 within hours of the declaration of war, without anyone being aware of their plans, and there are at least two moments where the day is saved by the presence of a miraculous one of a kind weapon. I am also rather less convinced of the value of a "pneumatic dynamite gun" than he is.
If it was half the length it would be fun as a bit of Victorian absurdity, but it frankly becomes rather tiresome by the end.
January 13, 2023
One of the most popular examples of the fin-de-siecle "invasion literature" or "future war" literature, which was in such huge demand in England in the late 19th century. The book depicts a surprise invasion against England by a coalition led by France and Russia, in the then near future of 1897. Overwhelmed and ill-prepared, England is on the verge of doom as sadistic enemies overrun the country, and the book offers descriptions of battles in one city after the next. But with the help of English "pluck" and the aid of Germany and Italy, the tide is turned.
As so much of the invation literature, "The Great War in England in 1897" was a pamphlet expressing concerns that the English political elite was too complacent about the threat of invasion, having neglected to enter the European arms race, spread its forces in India and other far-flung countries, failed to strengthen its navy and keeping way too small a grounf force in the country.
Le Queux starts off strong, with an atmospheric description of how the news of the invasion spreads across the streets and parlours of London. He introduces a nominal protagonist and an antagonist, a German spy working for the Czar, and sets his piece in motion with tension and foreboding. Unfortunately, before long all individusl characters fade away and we are treated to chapter after chapter of depictions of battles. It would have been a treat for contemporary audiences to read how their hometowns were reduced to rubble, Le Queux cleverly including street names, landmarks, shops and parlours which would have been familiar to the readers. But for a modern, especially non-English, reader, all these detailed descriptions of tactical maneuvers, endless lists of regiments and ships taking part in the battles, etc, quickly become tiring.
The book's huge popularity resided not in any literary qualities, but rather in its shock value and as a populist pamphlet for entering the arms race.
As so much of the invation literature, "The Great War in England in 1897" was a pamphlet expressing concerns that the English political elite was too complacent about the threat of invasion, having neglected to enter the European arms race, spread its forces in India and other far-flung countries, failed to strengthen its navy and keeping way too small a grounf force in the country.
Le Queux starts off strong, with an atmospheric description of how the news of the invasion spreads across the streets and parlours of London. He introduces a nominal protagonist and an antagonist, a German spy working for the Czar, and sets his piece in motion with tension and foreboding. Unfortunately, before long all individusl characters fade away and we are treated to chapter after chapter of depictions of battles. It would have been a treat for contemporary audiences to read how their hometowns were reduced to rubble, Le Queux cleverly including street names, landmarks, shops and parlours which would have been familiar to the readers. But for a modern, especially non-English, reader, all these detailed descriptions of tactical maneuvers, endless lists of regiments and ships taking part in the battles, etc, quickly become tiring.
The book's huge popularity resided not in any literary qualities, but rather in its shock value and as a populist pamphlet for entering the arms race.
September 6, 2023
It is over 100 years old, so I was expecting it be written in a dated format, and it was. At times it was good, other times it got too much in the details which never are covered again as recurring information that one would need to know. While the British suffers defeats and pushed back, they always did far more damage to the invaders ( Russians and French) than what they probably should, so it started to come off a bit Mary Sue. Battle of Dorking is a better invasion story, unless you are open to the War of the Worlds with an alien invasion, in which I would argue is a far better invasion story from the authors of that time period.
October 10, 2016
This is of some importance historically and less importance as literature. Both The Battle of Dorking and What Happened After the Battle of Dorking are far superior as representatives of their respective positions and as stories. The former has an admirable atmosphere and the latter lively descriptions of action. In contrast, The Great War in England in 1897 reads more like a boy's adventure.
Every Briton is fearless and grim, every Volunteer fights like a Regular, and whole divisions are lost to a man. The laundry lists of city buildings destroyed, compositions of fleets, and names of colonels and regiments quickly grow tiresome, although at first I admired the author's attention to detail. The writing is simply bad. Varieties of the phrase "blown to atoms" are used more than thirty times.
Historically, this novel captures the strategic uncertainty of the United Kingdom before the 1904 Entente Cordiale. Le Queux's later Invasion of 1910 was a model of cautioning against German militarism. In this novel, the terms of peace mirror those of Versailles of 1920, although in another direction. I found it particularly interesting in foreshadowing aerial warfare and depicting mass mobilization, armored steamships, widespread use of both machine guns and cavalry, and an alternative European alliance system. All this is shown without the experience of the Great War which we take for granted.
There once was a time when people knew a great European and world war was coming but did not know what it would look like. The Great War in England in 1897 offers a glimpse into that world.
Every Briton is fearless and grim, every Volunteer fights like a Regular, and whole divisions are lost to a man. The laundry lists of city buildings destroyed, compositions of fleets, and names of colonels and regiments quickly grow tiresome, although at first I admired the author's attention to detail. The writing is simply bad. Varieties of the phrase "blown to atoms" are used more than thirty times.
Historically, this novel captures the strategic uncertainty of the United Kingdom before the 1904 Entente Cordiale. Le Queux's later Invasion of 1910 was a model of cautioning against German militarism. In this novel, the terms of peace mirror those of Versailles of 1920, although in another direction. I found it particularly interesting in foreshadowing aerial warfare and depicting mass mobilization, armored steamships, widespread use of both machine guns and cavalry, and an alternative European alliance system. All this is shown without the experience of the Great War which we take for granted.
There once was a time when people knew a great European and world war was coming but did not know what it would look like. The Great War in England in 1897 offers a glimpse into that world.
November 9, 2025
Why even bother writing something that will be incredibly outdated, even in Victorian times, only three years after its initial publication? At least from a historical perspective, it depicts the precise reverse of the alliances of the actual Great War which broke out more than 20 years after publication.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews