The First Men in the Moon

Lore & Background

Bedford and Cavor escape captivity, killing several Selenites, and discover gold is common on the Moon. They become separated; Bedford finds the sphere and returns to Earth as lunar night falls, leaving Cavor behind after he is injured and recaptured. Bedford lands off the coast of Britain near Littlestone, makes his fortune from gold, but loses the sphere when a boy climbs in and shoots into space. Nearly two years later, Bedford learns that a Dutch electrician, Mr. Julius Wendigee, has picked up fragments of wireless telegraphy from Cavor inside the Moon. Cavor's broadcasts describe the Moon's interior: artificial shafts and tunnels, a glowing Central Sea, and a highly specialized Selenite society divided into hundreds of forms, each adapted for a single function.

Reader's Guide

The First Men in the Moon is a major work in the history of lunar science fiction, drawing inspiration from Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and Around the Moon (1869), which also used the term 'Selenites.' Wells called it one of his 'fantastic stories' and, in a 1933 preface, explained he aimed to 'look at mankind from a distance and burlesque the effects of specialisation.' The novel combines action and adventure with social satire, presenting a dystopian vision of a regimented, hierarchical Selenite society where individuals have strictly limited, predetermined roles. Critics have praised its fully developed characters, humor, and vivid descriptions of alien environments. The book has been compared to Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and reflects Wells' own introspective examination of eugenic and socialist ideals.

Did You Know?

• The novel was originally serialized in The Strand Magazine (UK) and The Cosmopolitan (USA) from November 1900 to June 1901.
• The word 'Selenites' for lunar inhabitants was used earlier by Jules Verne in From the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon.
• Cavorite, the gravity-blocking substance, is named after the scientist Mr. Cavor.
• The lunar interior is described as a 'mere sponge of rock' with artificial shafts and a glowing Central Sea nearly 200 miles below the surface.