The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham

John Wyndhams setting for his story published in 1957 was an ordinary rural village.
The village of Midwich was "almost notoriously a place where things did not happen."

"At the heart of Midwich is a triangular Green ornamented by five fine elms and a white-railed pond. The war memorial stands in the churchward corner of the Green,and spaced out round the sides are the church itself, the vicarage, the inn, the smithy, the post office, Mrs Welt's shop, and a number of cottages. Altogether, the village comprises some sixty cottages and small houses, a village hall, Kyle Manor, and The Grange.
The church is mostly perp. and dec., but with a Norman west doorway and font. The vicarage is Georgian; The Grange Victorian; Kyle Manor has Tudor roots with numerous later graftings. The cottages show most of the styles which have existed between the two Elizabeths, but even more recent than the two latest County Council cottages are the utilitarian wings that were added to the Grange when the Ministry took it over for Research."

The main Characters include Richard and Janet Gayford, Gorden, Angela and Ferralyn Zellaby, Lieutenant Alan Hughes and an assortment of officials and villagers.

The story begins as Richard and Janet Gayford try to return home to the village after a birthday celebration in London. They find that the police have blocked all roads into the village and the army are arriving.Turned back by the local policeman they are determined to reach home so park and walk across the fields towards home.
"I decided to follow Janet. She had perhaps twenty yards start of me by now, and then, just as I started off, she staggered, collapsed without a sound, and lay quite still..."

The perplexing puzzle of the happenings at Midwich at first seem odd but over time it becomes apparent that far more significant events have occurred. The villagers and the authorities responses and attitudes towards these events form the basis for the story.


I could get deep and discuss the deeper meanings/themes of the story it is classified as science fiction and is the story of societies/humans response to a devastating threat from the unknown, but I enjoy this stories very English setting and is a favourite of mine not least because I can picture and identify with the setting and the characters so well.