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Miniatures Adventure => VSF Adventures => Topic started by: Thunderchicken on 07 July 2010, 12:25:28 PM
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While working on my dissertation I came across a reference to this book. It was written in 1906, serialised with great success in the Daily Mail and published as a book:
http://airminded.org/2009/10/04/the-invasion-of-the-invasion-of-1910/
I know its not Victorian but it could be a good source of inspiration. There's a copy in the university archives so I have summoned it from its dusty slumber. :)
Anyone read it?
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Looks interesting. Any inspriation is always good :D
cheers
James
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I seem to remember a failry recent documentary on TV about the subject
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I seem to remember a failry recent documentary on TV about the subject
The uni library links it to Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain so he must have mentioned it.
Bezzo, I can image future war fiction being a winner at that time.
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I've also only seen references to it (I think there's even one in B. Tuchman's "The Guns of August"), and there are a lot of illustrations and adaptations of the theme featured in the "When the Comics Went to War" book I showed in the "Latest Book" thread. I haven't yet seen it as a physical copy, though. I recently watched the 1970s movie of "The Riddle of the Sands"; rather interesting, if a bit staid (the film version, that is; haven't read the book).
Interestingly, the Marr episode which refers to the book was on yesterday on Yesterday (duh!) and repeated this morning.
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Interestingly, the Marr episode which refers to the book was on yesterday on Yesterday (duh!) and repeated this morning.
Is that Freeview? Havent heard of that one.
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Is that Freeview? Havent heard of that one.
I'm not quite familiar with the UK TV system, but I get it via digital terrestrial antenna (DVB, "East Yorks. & Lincs., Channel 12"). It's apparently part of the group that also runs Dave, Gold, Watch etc. (although I only get Dave and Yesterday). It is a rather nice channel with a focus on documentaries (I'm watching Simon Schama's "History of Britain" as I type), but also some drama series (All creatures great and small, and "A very British Coup" was on over the last few days). Only downside is that they effectively only show 8 or so different shows, but those thrice a day ("new" episode in the afternoon, and a repeat in the evening and one the next morning).
Here's the link: http://uktv.co.uk/yesterday/homepage/sid/5008http://uktv.co.uk/yesterday/homepage/sid/5008
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Cheers Chris. I'll look for that later. Mind you, I dont watch much on the goggle box these days, I usually have my ears pinned to the wireless....... erm I mean radio .
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I haven't read it, but heard of it. There are a few referances in The Tale of the Next Great War, 1871 - 1914 (edited by I.F. Clarke), a book which every VSF wargamer must have a copy of.
Perhaps the Invasion of 1910 is avaliable online somewhere?
I assume you've read Chesney's The Battle of Dorking?
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Cheers Chris. I'll look for that later. Mind you, I dont watch much on the goggle box these days, I usually have my ears pinned to the wireless....... erm I mean radio .
I don't have a decent terrestrial radio station here apart from classic.fm, and that one only if the reception is good. In the afternoons, I usually switch the TV to the digital radio function for Magic105.4. That's rather nice, with little advertising and not too obnoxious moderators.
Concerning TV, I effectively watch BBC3, BBC4 (if the signal is strong enough), old movies on Film4 (so many classic war movies on! It's incredible!), E4 for two comedy serials, and Yesterday for the documentaries (war galore). I'd say UK TV is much, much better than Germany's (apart from ITV, I avoid that bunch like the plague), but the news channels are a bit UK-centric (including BBC News).
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I've heard of the battle of dorking, and along with this book, there's also a play, and a book written in 1903 about a submarine war. It's part of this whole pre-war anti-German hysteria that you find in certain parts of British society, centered around the possibility of a German invasion.
Clearly nobody had any faith in the Royal Navy.
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I've heard of the battle of dorking, and along with this book, there's also a play, and a book written in 1903 about a submarine war. It's part of this whole pre-war anti-German hysteria that you find in certain parts of British society, centered around the possibility of a German invasion.
Clearly nobody had any faith in the Royal Navy.
Not an expert on 20thC stuff, but I believe by this time the German navy had increased dramatically in size and was felt to be a significant threat to the RN. No doubt there's someone here who knows for sure :)
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interesting stuff
we have it too in the library, translated!
maybe I'll check
sounds like an interesting setting for our Ruritania background
the print was published in 1907, so it must be SF - true VSF!
there was even a movie released in 1914 after the war started
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I've heard of the battle of dorking, and along with this book, there's also a play, and a book written in 1903 about a submarine war. It's part of this whole pre-war anti-German hysteria that you find in certain parts of British society, centered around the possibility of a German invasion.
Clearly nobody had any faith in the Royal Navy.
Not only Germany, but France, Russia China and the US, amongst others, were all pointed to as the next great foe.
And it wasn't just Britain. 'Invasion Literature' took off in practically every European country, as well as the USA (see The Stricken Nation by Hugh Grattan Donnelly (1890) for a good US example). Everyone was terrified of everyone else, and assumed that the others were building secret weapons and alliances all the time. The logical extreme of this literary trend can be seen in H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds.
EDIT: there's a pretty good wiki article on the topic; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_literature
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I have got The Invasion of 1897 but not Invasion of 1910, I also have a couple of other books by LeQueux. To be honest like a lot of invasion literature they are a bit of a dour read, the 1910 book was his best seller so it may be better.In Marrs tv programme I seem to remember reference to LeQueux being a inspiration for James Bond.
Plenty of gaming inspiration can be had from the genre and as mentioned earlier I highly reccomend the 2 works by I.F Clarke -The Tale of the Next Great War, 1871-1914: Fictions of Future Warfare and Battles Still-To-Come and Voices Prophesying War: Future Wars 1763-3749.
Although scholarly works very readable and contain some of the better stories including The Battle of Dorking.
I also have a couple of paperbacks of compilations edited by Moorcock called Before Armageddon and England Invaded normally available form second hand sellers.
Mors