The Great War in England in 1897 (1894) is a novel by Anglo-French
writer William Le Queux. Published at the height of Le Queux's career as
a leading author of popular thrillers, The Great War in England in
1897 is a story of broken alliances, resistance, and international
conflict. Using his own research and experience as a journalist and
adventurer, Le Queux crafts an accessible, entertaining world for
readers in search of a literary escape. Known for his works of fiction
and nonfiction on the possibility of Germany invading Britain--a
paranoia common in the early twentieth century--William Le Queux also
wrote dozens of thrillers and adventure novels for a dedicated public
audience. Although critical acclaim eluded him, popular success made him
one of England's bestselling writers. In The Great War in England in
1897, a large Russian-French occupying force lands undetected on the
coast of England. Having formed an alliance in secret, they make swift
gains across England until reaching London, which they take control of
with little difficulty. Shocked, defeated, and hemorrhaging hope by the
day, the people of England look for their leaders to do anything to
reverse their fate. Working in the shadows, a small resistance movement
begins taking shape, eventually forming an alliance with Germany in
order to not only free England of its occupation, but force France and
Russia to retreat from their colonial gains around the world. Despite
being rejected as alarmist in its time, The Great War in England in
1897 would prove prescient less than a decade after its publication
with the outbreak of the First World War. Although Le Queux would
revisit the theme of invasion throughout his career, his 1906 novel The
Invasion of 1910 would virtually reverse the circumstances of The
Great War in England in 1897, having Germany take over the country
instead. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset
manuscript, this edition of William Le Queux's The Great War in England
in 1897 is a classic novel reimagined for modern readers.
