The First Men in the Moon

H. G. Wells (1866 - 1946)

Britain won the Moon Race! Decades before Neal Armstrong took his "giant leap for mankind" two intrepid adventurers from Lympne, England, journeyed there using not a rocket, but an antigravity coating.

Mr. Bedford, who narrates the tale, tells of how he fell in with eccentric inventor Mr. Cavor, grew to believe in his researches, helped him build a sphere for traveling in space, and then partnered with him in an expedition to the Moon.

What they found was fantastic! There was not only air and water, but the Moon was honeycombed with caverns and tunnels in which lived an advanced civilization of insect-like beings. While Bedford is frightened by them and bolts home, Cavor stays and is treated with great respect.

So why didn't Armstrong and later astronauts find the evidence of all this? Well, according to broadcasts by Cavor over the newly-discovered radio technology, he told the Selenites too much about mankind, and apparently, they removed the welcome mat! (Summary by Mark)

Genre(s): Science Fiction

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 Mr. Bedford Meets Mr. Cavor at Lympne Mark F. Smith
00:36:53
Play 02 The First Making of Cavorite Mark F. Smith
00:17:22
Play 03 The Building of the sphere Mark F. Smith
00:18:02
Play 04 Inside the Sphere Mark F. Smith
00:09:05
Play 05 The Journey to the Moon Mark F. Smith
00:13:19
Play 06 The Landing on the Moon Mark F. Smith
00:09:35
Play 07 Sunrise on the Moon. Mark F. Smith
00:11:23
Play 08 A Lunar Morning. Mark F. Smith
00:09:23
Play 09 Prospecting Begins. Mark F. Smith
00:19:56
Play 10 Lost Men in the Moon Mark F. Smith
00:12:07
Play 11 The Mooncalf Pastures Mark F. Smith
00:23:35
Play 12 The Selenite's Face Mark F. Smith
00:10:14
Play 13 Mr. Cavor Makes Some Suggestions Mark F. Smith
00:16:23
Play 14 Experiments in intercourse Mark F. Smith
00:12:15
Play 15 The Giddy Bridge Mark F. Smith
00:23:24
Play 16 Points of View Mark F. Smith
00:17:18
Play 17 The Fight in the Cave of the Moon Butchers Mark F. Smith
00:22:21
Play 18 In the Sunlight Mark F. Smith
00:19:23
Play 19 Mr. Bedford Alone Mark F. Smith
00:24:35
Play 20 Mr. Bedford in Infinite Space Mark F. Smith
00:17:00
Play 21 Mr. Bedford at Littlestone Mark F. Smith
00:31:59
Play 22 The Astonishing Communication of Mr. Julius Wendigee Mark F. Smith
00:08:57
Play 23 An Abstract of the Six Messages First Received from Mr. Cavor Mark F. Smith
00:17:56
Play 24 The Natural History of the Selenites Mark F. Smith
00:40:10
Play 25 The Grand Lunar Mark F. Smith
00:35:35
Play 26 The Last Message Cavor Sent to the Earth Mark F. Smith
00:04:34