The Germ Growers

Lore & Background

The book was first published in Australia by Melville, Mullen and Slade in early August 1892, exact date unknown. Later that year or simultaneously, it was published in Britain by Hutchinson & Co., the edition with illustrations—four drawn by W. Hatherell—though some copies of the Australian edition also featured illustrations. Contemporary reviewers noted strong Christian themes, with The Australian calling it 'a new version of...the fall of man, and the redemption,' while Table Talk described its motif as 'the suggestion of a theory whereby all the evil of the world may be accounted for by the working of semi-invisible agents.'

Reader's Guide

The Germ Growers holds a significant place in literary history as probably the earliest known alien invasion story, predating H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds by six years and Kurd Lasswitz's Two Planets by five years. It is also the earliest known example of the alien infiltration theme, later popularized by stories such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Despite this pioneering status, the novel has largely fallen into obscurity, overshadowed by The War of the Worlds. It is unknown whether H.G. Wells was inspired by this novel or even knew of its existence, though he published the bioterrorism-themed short story 'The Stolen Bacillus' in 1894, and his later publisher Hutchinson & Co. would publish his novel The Shape of Things to Come in 1933. The novel's themes of biological warfare and alien colonization remain relevant in science fiction.

Did You Know?

• The novel was originally published under the pseudonyms 'Robert Easterley and John Wilbraham,' who are also the protagonists.
• It is probably the earliest known alien invasion story, predating The War of the Worlds by six years.
• The aliens' leader, Signor Niccolo Davell, is revealed to be a metallic-like blob.
• The UK edition by Hutchinson & Co. had illustrations, four drawn by W. Hatherell, and some copies of the Australian edition by Melville, Mullen and Slade also included illustrations.

Plot & Worldbuilding

In the remote, uncharted stretches of north-western Australia, two explorers stumble upon a hidden settlement that defies everything they thought they knew about the natural world. The inhabitants appear human but possess a level of scientific sophistication that dwarfs their own civilization, including the ability to construct airships fitted with a cloaking mechanism that renders them invisible. As the story unfolds, the true nature of these beings is laid bare: they are not human at all, but shape-shifting extraterrestrials whose entire purpose is the cultivation of malignant germs. Operating from their isolated outpost, these creatures transport deadly pathogens—smallpox, cholera, and other devastating diseases—to every corner of the globe, systematically infecting the human population with the ultimate goal of wiping out the species and claiming the planet for themselves. Their operation is directed by a figure known as Signor Niccolo Davell, whose true form, when finally unmasked, is a metallic, blob-like entity. The two protagonists are captured by the creatures and must devise a means of escape before the alien conquest of Earth is completed.

Publication & Authorship

Behind the byline 'Robert Easterley and John Wilbraham' hides a single creative mind: Robert Potter, an author of Irish and Australian heritage. The dual-pseudonym presentation gives the novel the feel of a collaborative work, yet every chapter, introduction, epilogue, and conclusion was the product of one writer. The book is structured around eleven main chapters, framed by those additional front and back matter sections. Its first appearance in print came in Australia through the publishing house Melville, Mullen and Slade, sometime in early August 1892, though the precise day of release has never been firmly established. Around the same time—or shortly thereafter—the novel crossed the Tasman to Britain, where Hutchinson & Co. issued a separate edition. That British printing holds a unique distinction among all known copies: it is the only edition to carry illustrations, featuring four drawings by the artist W. Hatherell. No other surviving edition, Australian or otherwise, includes such visual accompaniment, making the Hutchinson volume a rare artifact for collectors and scholars of late-Victorian speculative fiction.

Critical Reception & Thematic Reading

Contemporary reviewers were quick to read The Germ Growers through a religious lens, and both major reviews of the period foregrounded that interpretation. A critic writing in The Australian newspaper emphasized what they called the book's 'Christian' underpinnings, framing the alien germ-cultivation plot as a fresh retelling of the fall of man and subsequent redemption. Even so, the reviewer conceded the novel's accessibility, noting its clear and flowing prose and arguing that it could be enjoyed purely as an adventure story by readers with little patience for theological speculation. In Table Talk, another critic went further into the religious symbolism, describing the novel's central motif as a theory in which all the world's evil is traced to semi-invisible agents operating from hidden, inaccessible corners of the globe. These 'evil genii,' the reviewer explained, exploit concealed natural laws to vanish at will, scatter poison germs across the population, and recruit ill-intentioned humans as unwitting underlings—all while remaining visible only as a faint, mysterious shadow. Together, these reviews reveal how Victorian readers mapped the alien-invasion premise onto familiar narratives of sin, corruption, and salvation.

Legacy & Place in Sci-Fi History

Although it has largely faded from public memory, The Germ Growers occupies a remarkable position in the genealogy of science fiction. It is widely regarded as the earliest known alien invasion narrative, arriving a full six years before H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds and five years before Kurd Lasswitz's Two Planets. The novel also stands as the earliest identified example of the alien-infiltration trope—the idea that extraterrestrials disguise themselves among humans to undermine civilization from within—a theme that would not reach mass audiences until works like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Whether Wells ever encountered Potter's book remains unknown, yet the parallels are striking: in 1894 he published the short story 'The Stolen Bacillus,' which likewise explores the terror of biological weapons. A further, purely coincidental thread links the two authors through publishing: Hutchinson & Co., the British house that issued The Germ Growers, would go on to publish Wells' own The Shape of Things to Come in 1933. Despite these connections, the shadow of War of the Worlds has ensured that Potter's pioneering vision remains one of speculative fiction's most overlooked treasures.