Imaginary wars and battles

The Anglo-Russian War of 1900

Invasion literature was a genre which burgeoned during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in many parts of the world. Numerous works from this genre are classified under the subject heading 'imaginary wars and battles' and 'future wars'.

According to I.F. Clarke, in his book Voices Prophesying War: future wars 1763-3749, the anonymously written book The Reign of George VI, 1900-1925 is generally acknowledged as the earliest example of a book about future war, having been written in 1763 (p. 5). However it is The Battle of Dorking, published in 1871, which is usually recognised as the book responsible for the widespread popularity of the genre in the decades before the beginning of World War I in 1914.

Books about future wars and invasions published during that period and held in the Special Collection include the following:  

• The Battle of Dorking: reminiscences of a volunteer – Anonymous (later attributed to George Chesney), 1871.
• The invasion – W. H. Walker (later attributed to George Ranken), 1877.
• The Battle of Mordialloc, or How We Lost Australia - Anonymous (later attributed to Edward Maitland), 1888.
• The Yellow Wave: a romance of the Asiatic invasion of Australia – Kenneth MacKay, 1895.
• When War Breaks Out – H.W. Wilson and Arnold White, 1898.
• The Anglo-Russian War of 1900: invasion of Victoria: capture of Melbourne – A.H. [c.1900?].
• The Australian Crisis - C.H. Kirmess, 1909.

The Special Collection also holds The Lone Hand magazine which published a number of short stories from the genre.