Thirty-six years after the novel’s initial publication, author John Christopher reflects on his experience writing The White Mountains. As a boy, Christopher was fascinated by science fiction set in the future and in space, but his interest faded as human exploration of space failed to reveal intelligent life forms. He thus decided to set The White Mountains in a future that closely resembles Europe’s feudal past. As the novel was his first attempt to write children’s fiction, Christopher went through multiple revisions with the guidance of his editor, Susan Hirschman.

Around the year 2070, 13-year-old Will Parker lives in the small town of Wherton in England. About 100 years earlier, a group of large, mechanical Tripods appeared and enslaved humans around the world, obliterating most human technology in the process. The Tripods control people with mechanical Caps that they embed in individuals’ heads when they reach the age of 14. Some people become mentally unstable after they are Capped, leaving them to live as so-called “Vagrants.”

Will opens by describing his father’s mechanical clock, one of only five in the village. Will’s father’s greatest treasure, however, is an ornate wristwatch, which is unrivaled even in Winchester.