The War of the Worlds takes place in Victorian England. An alien invasion causes the narrator to move from place to place within that area, giving the novel an epic sense of movement. Still, despite all this movement, Wells provides a very clear picture of place throughout the novel. Most of the narrative unfolds in London and Woking, Surrey (a town in Southern England). The narrator lives in Woking; his cousin, on the other hand, lives in Leatherhead, which the characters come to see as a place of safety. The site of the first cylinder landing is called Horsell Common, which still exists by that name and was at the time within walking distance of Wells's home. The use of real-life locations makes the story seem quite possible, despite its far-fetched premise.
In terms of the time period, most of the story's action takes place around 1900. During a few successive planetary oppositions in 1894, 1896, and 1899, the humans in the story see strange lights on Mars, so it can be assumed that the main actions occur just after Mars was closest to Earth in that final year. Much like the strong sense of place in the novel, the historical parallels with real-world events encourage the reader to suspend disbelief and make the story feel more real.
