The Last Man
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| Author | Mary Shelley |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | science fiction |
| Publisher | |
| Released | 1826 |
| Media Type | |
| ISBN | NA |
- This article is about the novel. For the comic book series, see Y: The Last Man.
The Last Man is an early post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Mary Shelley, which was first published in 1826. The book tells of a future world that has been ravaged by a plague. The Last Man was written in the period following her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley's death.
Set in the twenty-first century, it was influential on the development of English science fiction, particularly on H.G. Wells (see The Time Machine, The Island of Dr Moreau, and The Invisible Man), Olaf Stapledon and, less obviously, Arthur C. Clarke, particularly Childhood's End.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The central character, Lionel Verney, son of a nobleman who gambled himself into poverty, prides himself on his ruggedness and manliness, but eventually is restored to the gentry and educates himself. Much of the novel deals with his relationships with family and friends of his class, and the terrible wars that go on around them, including one in which a woman friend of Verney's masquerades as a man in order to fight. A plague gradually kills off all people. Verney finds himself immune after being attacked by an infected "negro," and copes with a civilization that is gradually dying out around him.
[edit] Analysis
A simplistic approach to the novel would say that it is an allegory about accepting different peoples and ways of life, but there is much more to it than that. It is more than twice as long as Frankenstein.
Also referencing a concept created by Friedrich Nietzsche in Thus Spoke Zarathustra regarding the "Last Man." Nineteen Eighty-Four's working title was "The last man in Europe."
[edit] Adaptations
- Mary Shelley's The Last Man, the first feature film production of Mary Shelley's apocalyptic 21st century pandemic (2006 USA)
