A TIMELINE OF BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION
1800
1802
Death of Erasmus Darwin.
1803
The Temple of Nature by Erasmus Darwin.
1807
Jane Webb (Jane Loudon) born in Warwickshire.
1809
Charles Darwin born in Shrewsbury.
1810
1817
Armata: A Fragment by Thomas Erskine.
1818
First edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
Death of Matthew Gregory Lewis.
1820
Melmoth, the Wanderer by Charles Maturin.
1824
Death of Charles Maturin.
Birth of George MacDonald.
1826
The Last Man by Mary Shelley.
1827
The Mummy!: A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century by Jane Loudon.
1828
Salathiel: A Story of the Past, the Present and the Future by George Croly.
1830
1831
Revised edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
1832
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) born at Daresbury, Cheshire.
1834
William Morris born at Walthamstow, Essex.
1839
Edwin Abbott born in London.
1840
1841
W.H. Hudson born near Buenos Aires, Argentina.
1842
A Voyage from Utopia by John Francis Bray.
1844
Andrew Lang born in Selkirk.
1847
Bram Stoker born in Dublin.
1848
Grant Allen born in Ontario, Canada.
Richard Jefferies born in Wiltshire.
1849
The Poor Artist by Richard Henry Horne.
1850
Robert Louis Stevenson born in Edinburgh.
1851
Mary Shelley dies.
A Little Earnest Book upon a Great Old Subject by William Wilson contains the first known use of 'science fiction'.
1855
Mary Mackay (Marie Corelli) born in Perth, Scotland.
1856
H. Rider Haggard born in Norfolk.
George Bernard Shaw born in Dublin.
1857
George Griffith born in Plymouth, Devon.
Josef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski (Joseph Conrad) born in Polish Ukraine.
1858
Phantastes by George MacDonald.
Death of Jane Loudon.
1859
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin.
Jerome K. Jerome born in Walsall.
Arthur Conan Doyle born in Edinburgh.
1860
1863
Arthur Machen born in Caerleon, Monmouthshire.
1864
Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne.
The History of a Voyage to the Moon by 'Chrysostom Trueman'.
1865
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by 'Lewis Carroll'.
From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne
C.J. Cutliffe Hyne born in Gloucestershire.
M.P. Shiel born in Monserrat, West Indies.
Rudyard Kipling born in Bombay
1866
H.G. Wells born in Bromley, Kent.
1870
The Invasion of England: A Possible Tale of Future Times by Alfred Bate Richards.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.
H.H. Munro ('Saki') born in Burma.
1871
The Coming Race by Edward Bulwer-Lytton.
'The Battle of Dorking: Reminiscences of a Volunteer' by George T. Chesney.
At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald.
1872
Erewhon by Samuel Butler.
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by 'Lewis Carroll'.
1873
By and By: An Historical Romance of the Future by Edward Maitland.
J.D. Beresford born in Castor, Northamptonshire.
Ford Madox Hueffer (Ford Madox Ford) born in Merton, Surrey.
Oliver Onions born in Bradford.
1874
Annals of the Twenty-Ninth Century by Andrew Blair.
A Voice from Another World by W.S. Lach-Szyrma.
S. Fowler Wright born in Birmingham.
G.K. Chesterton born in London.
1876
The Channel Tunnel, or, England's Ruin by 'Cassandra'.
1877
William Hope Hodgson born in Essex.
1878
David Lindsay born in London.
Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett (Lord Dunsany) born in London.
1879
The New Ordeal by George T. Chesney
High Spirits by James Payn.
E.M. Forster born in London.
1880
Across the Zodiac by Percy Greg.
The Doom of the Great City: Being the Narrative of a Survivor, Written A.D. 1942 by W. DeLisle Hay.
A Beleaguered City by Mrs Oliphant.
1881
Three Hundred Years Hence by W. DeLisle Hay.
1882
The Revolt of Man by Walter Besant.
A Thousand Years Hence by 'Nunsowe Green'.
How John Bull Lost London, or, the capture of the Channel Tunnel by 'Grip' (fourth edition).
The Fixed Period by Anthony Trollope.
E.R. Eddison born in Yorkshire.
A Bill to construct a Channel Tunnel is proposed in Parliament.
1883
The Surprise of the Channel Tunnel, a sensational novel of the future by C. Forth.
Aleriel; or, A Voyage to Other Worlds by W.S. Lach-Szyrma (an expansion of A Voice from Another World).
Compton Mackenzie born in West Hartlepool, Co. Durham.
Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward (Sax Rohmer) born in Birmingham.
1884
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott.
Strange Stories by Grant Allen.
J.C. Squire born in Plymouth, Devon.
1885
A Modern Daedalus by Tom Greer.
King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard.
After London; or, Wild England by Richard Jefferies.
1886
Kaylee's Shrine by Grant Allen with May Cotes.
A Romance of Two Worlds by Marie Corelli.
She: A History of Adventure by H. Rider Haggard.
Scientific Romances by C. Howard Hinton.
In the Wrong Paradise by Andrew Lang.
The Crack of Doom by William Minto.
Strange Case of Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.
The Phantom City by William Westall.
Olaf Stapledon born near Wallasey, Cheshire.
James O'Neill born in Galway, Ireland.
1887
The Beckoning Hand by Grant Allen.
Zit and Xoe by Henry Curwen.
Under the Deep, Deep Sea, the story of the Channel Tunnel by Robert Jones Griffiths.
Allan Quartermain by H. Rider Haggard.
A Crystal Age by W.H. Hudson.
A Queer Race by William Westall.
Hope Mirrlees is born.
Death of Richard Jefferies.
1888
The Inner House by Walter Besant.
A Dream of John Ball by William Morris.
The Eavesdropper by James Payn.
Marahuna: A Romance by H.B. Marriott Watson.
First appearance of 'The Chronic Argonauts' by H.G. Wells.
Nigel Fortescue; or, The Hunted Man by William Westall.
1889
The Jaws of Death by Grant Allen.
For England's Sake by Robert Cromie.
Mysteries and Adventures by Arthur Conan Doyle.
The Wreck of a World by W. Grove.
Beneath our very Boots by C.J. Cutliffe Hyne.
Mr Stranger's Sealed Packet by Hugh MacColl.
1890
The Great Taboo by Grant Allen.
The Wonderful Adventures of Phra the Phoenician by Edward Lester Arnold.
Master of his Fate by James MacLaren Cobban.
A Plunge into Space by Robert Cromie.
Gloriana; or, The Revolution of 1900 by Lady Florence Dixie.
The Captain of the Polestar by Arthur Conan Doyle.
1891
Tourmalin's Time Cheques by F. Anstey.
History of a World of Immortals Without a God by James William Barlow.
The Doings of Raffles Haw by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Meda: A Tale of the Future by 'Kenneth Folingsby'.
Eric Brighteyes by H. Rider Haggard.
The Year of Miracle by Fergus Hume.
'The New Utopia' by Jerome K. Jerome.
News from Nowhere by William Morris.
The Cruise of the Crystal Boat by Gordon Stables.
Storm Jameson born in Whitby.
Neil M. Gunn born in Caithness.
1892
The Captain of the 'Mary Rose' by W. Laird Clowes.
The New Eden by C.J. Cutliffe Hyne.
Under Other Conditions by W.S. Lach-Szyrma.
The Disintegrator by Arthur Morgan & Charles R. Brown.
The Last Great Naval War by 'A. Nelson Seaforth'.
J.R.R. Tolkien born in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State.
David Garnett born in Brighton.
1893
Ivan Greet's Masterpiece by Grant Allen.
The Great Peril and How It Was Averted by W. Laird Clowes.
The Great War of 189- by Philip H. Colomb et al.
My Friend the Murderer by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Hartmann the Anarchist by E. Douglas Fawcett.
The Recipe for Diamonds by C.J. Cutliffe Hyne.
Capt. W.E. Johns born in Bengeo, Hertfordshire.
1894
The Face and the Mask by Robert Barr.
The Double Emperor by W. Laird Clowes.
The Great Keinplatz Experiment by Arthur Conan Doyle.
The Parasite by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Swallowed by an Earthquake by E. Douglas Fawcett.
The Angel of the Revolution by George Griffith.
Olga Romanoff by George Griffith.
The People of the Mist by H. Rider Haggard.
The Great War in England in 1897 by William Le Queux.
The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen.
Aldous Huxley born in Godalming, Surrey.
J.B. Priestley born in Bradford.
1895
The British Barbarians by Grant Allen.
The Desire of the Eyes by Grant Allen.
The Story of Ulla by Edwin Lester Arnold.
The Curse of Intellect by Frank Challice Constable.
The Crack of Doom by Robert Cromie.
Zalma by T. Mullett Ellis.
The Outlaws of the Air by George Griffith.
Valdar the Oft-Born by George Griffith.
Heart of the World by H. Rider Haggard.
Stella, and an Unfinished Communication by C. Howard Hinton.
Blake of the 'Rattlesnake' by Fred T. Jane.
Stolen Souls by William Le Queux.
Lilith by George MacDonald.
Mercia, The Astronomer Royal by A. Garland Mears.
The Impregnable City by Max Pemberton.
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
Robert Graves born in London.
1896
A Bride from the Desert by Grant Allen.
The Devil Tree of El Dorado by Francis Henry Atkins.
The Next Crusade by Robert Cromie.
The Pilgrimage of Strongsoul by John Davidson.
Scientific Romances: Second Series by C. Howard Hinton.
The Incubated Girl by Fred T. Jane.
The Well at the World's End by William Morris.
Across the Zodiac by Edwin Pallander.
Shapes in the Fire by M.P. Shiel.
The Final War by Louis Tracy.
The Island of Dr Moreau by H.G. Wells.
Katherine Burdekin born in Derbyshire.
John Gloag born in London.
1897
The King's Oak by Robert Cromie.
Without Bloodshed by Harold E. Gorst.
Briton or Boer? by George Griffith.
The Romance of Golden Star by George Griffith.
To Venus in Five Seconds by Fred T. Jane.
The Eye of Ishtar by William Le Queux.
A Trip to Venus by John Munro.
Dracula by Bram Stoker.
An American Emperor by Louis Tracy & M.P. Shiel.
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells.
The Plattner Story and Others by H.G. Wells.
Thirty Strange Stories by H.G. Wells.
Dennis Wheatley born in London.
Naomi Mitchison born in Edinburgh.
1898
The Rev. Annabel Lee by Robert Buchanan.
The Martian by George Du Maurier.
Sketches of the Future by Harold E. Gorst.
The Destined Maid by George Griffith.
The Gold-Finder by George Griffith.
The Great White Queen by William Le Queux.
The Yellow Danger by M.P. Shiel.
The Lost Provinces by Louis Tracy.
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells.
C.S. Lewis born in Belfast.
1899
A Queen of Atlantis by Francis Henry Atkins.
The Great Pirate Syndicate by George Griffith.
Gambles with Destiny by George Griffith.
The Violet Flame by Fred T. Jane.
England's Peril by William Le Queux.
Tales of Space and Time by H.G. Wells.
When the Sleeper Wakes by H.G. Wells.
Death of Grant Allen.