Wyndham, John (1903–1969)

English science fiction writer. He wrote The Day of the Triffids (1951), describing the invasion of Earth by a strange plant mutation; The Chrysalids (1955); and The Midwich Cuckoos (1957). A recurrent theme in his work is people's response to disaster, whether caused by nature, aliens, or human error.

Wyndham was born in Knowle, Warwickshire. He tried a number of careers in the early 1920s, and began writing short stories in 1925. After serving in the civil service and army during World War II, he started to write science fiction novels.

In The Chrysalids, children develop telepathic powers after a nuclear war; in The Midwich Cuckoos, all the women in an English village are made pregnant by an extraterrestrial agency and give birth to a frightening brood of children. Other titles are The Kraken Wakes (1953) and Trouble with Lichen (1960).