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The Crystal Egg

H. G. Wells

First published May 1897
Type Short Fiction
Length Short Story

Synopsis

An antique dealer finds out that one of his items (the crystal egg) allows views from a high post into alien life scenes. Upon close inspection, small lifeforms and structures can be seen inside the egg. With the help from the protagonist it can be determined from clues that the egg is in fact a viewer, and that he is viewing scenes from Mars.

Notes

This story was first published in The New Review, May 1897. Though parts of it are set on Mars it has no part in Wells' "The War of the Worlds": there are seemingly different kinds of Martians, none of which resemble the ones from the novel.

External Links

Wikipedia librivox.org librivox.org

Publications (118)

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
May 1897 The New Review, May 1897 William Heinemann MAGAZINE 556
1899 Tales of Space and Time Harper & Brothers Collection
1899 Tales of Space and Time Doubleday & McClure Collection |1
November 1899 Tales of Space and Time Doubleday & McClure Collection 1
1900 Tales of Space and Time Tauchnitz Collection 9
August 1911 The Country of the Blind and Other Stories Thomas Nelson & Sons Collection 285
August 1913 The Country of the Blind and Other Stories Thomas Nelson & Sons Collection 285
1924 Tales of the Unexpected W. Collins Sons Collection 96
October 1924 Ghosts and Marvels: A Selection of Uncanny Tales from Daniel Defoe to Algernon Blackwood Oxford University Press Anthology 373
1925 In the Days of the Comet and Seventeen Short Stories T. Fisher Unwin Omnibus
1925 In the Days of the Comet and Seventeen Short Stories Charles Scribner's Sons Omnibus
May 1926 Amazing Stories, May 1926 Experimenter Publishing Company MAGAZINE 128
1927 The Short Stories of H. G. Wells Ernest Benn Collection 695
1927 The Short Stories of H. G. Wells Ernest Benn Collection 695
September 1927 The Short Stories of H. G. Wells Ernest Benn Collection 695
October 1927 The Short Stories of H. G. Wells Ernest Benn Collection 695
1929 The Short Stories of H. G. Wells Doubleday, Doran Collection
1929 The Famous Short Stories of H. G. Wells The Literary Guild Collection
1931 The Stolen Body and Other Tales of the Unexpected London Book Co. Collection |7
June 1931 A Slip Under the Microscope Haldeman-Julius Collection
1937 The Famous Short Stories of H. G. Wells Doubleday, Doran Collection 613
1938 The Famous Short Stories of H. G. Wells Garden City Publishing Co. Collection 613
1938 The Famous Short Stories of H. G. Wells Doubleday, Doran Collection 613
1948 The Short Stories of H. G. Wells Ernest Benn Collection 695
April 1948 Strange Ports of Call Pellegrini & Cudahy Anthology 192
December 1949 Strange Ports of Call Pellegrini & Cudahy Anthology 192
1952 28 Science Fiction Stories of H. G. Wells Dover Publications Collection 662
1954 Tales of the Unexpected Collins Collection
1957 The Short Stories of H. G. Wells Ernest Benn Collection 695
November 1959 Aspects of Science Fiction John Murray Anthology 115
1960 28 Science Fiction Stories of H. G. Wells Dover Publications Collection 662
1960 The Short Stories of H. G. Wells Ernest Benn Collection
June 1962 A Century of Science Fiction Simon & Schuster Anthology 121
July 1962 A Century of Science Fiction Simon & Schuster / SFBC Anthology 121
1963 The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, and Selected Short Stories Platt & Munk Omnibus 383
1963 Best Stories of H. G. Wells Ballantine Books Collection 65
February 1963 A Century of Science Fiction Dell Anthology 130
June 1963 Best Stories of H. G. Wells Ballantine Books Collection 65
November 1963 A Century of Science Fiction Gollancz Anthology 121
1964 The Valley of Spiders Fontana Collection 156
1964 28 Science Fiction Stories of H. G. Wells Dover Publications Collection 662
January 1964 A Century of Science Fiction Gollancz Anthology 121
1965 The Complete Short Stories of H. G. Wells Ernest Benn Collection
August 1965 The Valley of Spiders Fontana Collection 156
1966 Best Science Fiction Stories of H. G. Wells Dover Publications Collection |2
1966 A Century of Science Fiction Pan Books Anthology 151
1966 28 Science Fiction Stories of H. G. Wells Dover Publications Collection 662
1966 Best Science Fiction Stories of H. G. Wells Peter Smith Publisher Collection
September 1966 The Complete Short Stories of H. G. Wells Ernest Benn Collection 625
1968 Aspects of Science Fiction John Murray Anthology 115
1970 Aspects of Science Fiction John Murray Anthology 115
April 1971 A Century of Science Fiction Gollancz Anthology 121
1972 A Century of Science Fiction BCA - Book Club Associates Anthology 121
September 1972 The Valley of Spiders Fontana Collection 156
1974 The Complete Short Stories of H. G. Wells Ernest Benn Collection 625
May 1974 The Valley of Spiders Fontana Collection 156
July 1975 In Dreams Awake Dell Laurel Anthology 27
November 1976 Visions of Tomorrow Pocket Books Anthology 185
August 1977 Empire of the Ants and 8 Science Fiction Stories Tempo Books / Grosset & Dunlap Collection
September 1977 The Empire of the Ants (and Other Stories) Scholastic Collection 72
February 1978 The Valley of Spiders Fontana / Collins Collection 156
1980 The Empire of the Ants (and Other Stories) Scholastic Collection 72
January 1981 The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine and Selected Short Stories Grosset & Dunlap Omnibus 383
1982 The Gernsback Awards 1926: Volume 1 Triton Books Anthology 32|32.2
1982 Works of H. G. Wells Avenel Books Omnibus 616
September 1983 Magic for Sale Ace Science Fiction Books Anthology 189
September 1983 Space Odyssey Octopus Books Anthology 46
1984 Aspects of Science Fiction John Murray Anthology 115
1987 The Complete Short Stories of H. G. Wells St. Martin's Press Collection 625
1987 Space Odyssey Gallery Books / W. H. Smith Anthology 46
February 1988 Space Odyssey Treasure Press Anthology 46
September 1993 The Television Late Night Horror Omnibus Orion Anthology 74
July 1994 The Television Late Night Horror Omnibus: Great Tales from TV Anthology Series Artus Books Anthology 74
September 1994 The Armchair Horror Collection: Great Tales from TV Anthology Series Orion Anthology 85
October 1996 The Country of the Blind and Other Stories Oxford University Press Collection |19
April 1997 Decades of Science Fiction NTC Publishing Group Anthology 42
April 1997 Decades of Science Fiction NTC Publishing Group Anthology 42
May 1998 The Red Room and Other Stories Phoenix Collection 51
August 1998 The Complete Short Stories of H. G. Wells J. M. Dent Collection 267
2003 The Television Late Night Horror Omnibus Bounty Books Anthology 74
April 2004 The Country of the Blind and Other Stories Project Gutenberg Collection |19
July 2004 Selected Stories of H. G. Wells Modern Library Collection 64
January 2006 The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories The Echo Library Collection |19
December 2006 The Man Who Could Work Miracles Tartarus Press Collection
May 2007 The Country of the Blind and Other Selected Stories Penguin Books Collection |13
December 2007 The Country of the Blind and Other Selected Stories Penguin Books Collection 164
December 2008 Tales of Space and Time Project Gutenberg Collection |1
2009 A Dream of Armageddon: The Complete Supernatural Tales Fall River Press Collection 130
January 2009 A Dream of Armageddon Cybraria Collection
May 2009 Short Science Fiction Collection 15 LibriVox Anthology |3
March 2010 The Country of the Blind and Other Stories Waking Lion Press Collection 186
May 2010 A Dream of Armageddon Kessinger Collection
April 2011 Complete Short Story Omnibus Gollancz Collection 291
2012 The Monster-Maker and Other Science Fiction Classics Fall River Press Anthology 119
January 2013 The Country of the Blind and Other Stories CreateSpace Collection 143
March 2013 The War of the Worlds Baen Books Collection |1
July 2013 The Country of the Blind and Other Stories CreateSpace Collection 273
January 2014 Tales of Space and Time LibriVox Collection |1
February 2015 Science Fiction Classics #2 Pulp Tales Press Anthology 128
February 2016 H. G. Wells: The Dover Reader Dover Publications Omnibus
January 2017 The Crystal Egg and Other Stories Wordsworth Editions Collection 1
February 2017 Short Stories: Anthology of Classic Tales Flame Tree Publishing Collection 178
April 2017 The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories Enhanced Media Publishing Collection |19
2018 Short Stories: Anthology of Classic Tales Flame Tree Publishing Collection 178
April 2018 Lost Mars: The Golden Age of the Red Planet British Library Publishing Anthology 27
May 2018 Tales of Space and Time Oregan Publishing Collection |1
May 2018 The Best Science Fiction Stories of H. G. Wells Dover Publications Collection 135
May 2018 The Best Science Fiction Stories of H. G. Wells Dover Publications Collection |135
October 2018 Lost Mars: Stories from the Golden Age of the Red Planet University of Chicago Press Anthology
October 2018 Lost Mars: Stories from the Golden Age of the Red Planet University of Chicago Press Anthology 27
December 2018 Short Stories: Anthology of Classic Tales Flame Tree Publishing Collection |19
April 2019 HorrorBabble's Ultimate Weird Tales Collection, Volume 1 HorrorBabble Anthology |50
2020 Short Stories: Anthology of Classic Tales Flame Tree Publishing Collection 178
October 2020 Strange Lands: Short Stories Flame Tree Press Anthology 450
September 2021 Tales of the Unexpected Project Gutenberg Collection |96
April 2024 Tales of Space and Time Roy Glashan's Library Collection |1
October 2025 The Classic Science Fiction Collection Arcturus Publishing Anthology 29
November 2025 The Classic Science Fiction Collection Sirius Anthology 29