3.0
The Last Man
ByPublisher Description
Mary Shelley's landmark novel that invented the human extinction genre and initiated climate fiction, imagining a world where newly-forged communities and reverence for nature rises from the ashes of a pandemic-ravaged society, now for the first time in Penguin Classics, with a foreword by Rebecca Solnit
A Penguin Classic
Written while Mary Shelley was in a self-imposed lockdown after the loss of her husband and children, and in the wake of intersecting crises including the climate-changing Mount Tambora eruption and a raging cholera outbreak, The Last Man (1826) is the first end-of-mankind novel, an early work of climate fiction, and a prophetic depiction of environmental change. Set in the late twenty-first century, the book tells of a deadly pandemic that leaves a lone survivor, and follows his journey through a post-apocalyptic world that's devoid of humanity and reclaimed by nature. But rather than give in to despair, Shelley uses the now-ubiquitous end-times plot to imagine a new world where freshly-formed communities and alternative ways of being stand in for self-important politicians serving corrupt institutions, and where nature reigns mightily over humanity—a timely message for our current era of climate collapse and political upheaval. Brimming with political intrigue and love triangles around characters based on Percy Shelley and scandal-dogged poet Lord Byron, the novel also broaches partisan dysfunction, imperial warfare, refugee crises, and economic collapse—and brings the legacy of her radically progressive parents, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, to bear on present-day questions about making a better world less centered around “man.” Shelley’s second major novel after Frankenstein, The Last Man casts a half-skeptical eye on romantic ideals of utopian perfection and natural plenitude while looking ahead to a greener future in which our species develops new relationships with non-human life and the planet.
A Penguin Classic
Written while Mary Shelley was in a self-imposed lockdown after the loss of her husband and children, and in the wake of intersecting crises including the climate-changing Mount Tambora eruption and a raging cholera outbreak, The Last Man (1826) is the first end-of-mankind novel, an early work of climate fiction, and a prophetic depiction of environmental change. Set in the late twenty-first century, the book tells of a deadly pandemic that leaves a lone survivor, and follows his journey through a post-apocalyptic world that's devoid of humanity and reclaimed by nature. But rather than give in to despair, Shelley uses the now-ubiquitous end-times plot to imagine a new world where freshly-formed communities and alternative ways of being stand in for self-important politicians serving corrupt institutions, and where nature reigns mightily over humanity—a timely message for our current era of climate collapse and political upheaval. Brimming with political intrigue and love triangles around characters based on Percy Shelley and scandal-dogged poet Lord Byron, the novel also broaches partisan dysfunction, imperial warfare, refugee crises, and economic collapse—and brings the legacy of her radically progressive parents, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, to bear on present-day questions about making a better world less centered around “man.” Shelley’s second major novel after Frankenstein, The Last Man casts a half-skeptical eye on romantic ideals of utopian perfection and natural plenitude while looking ahead to a greener future in which our species develops new relationships with non-human life and the planet.
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3.0
Ash
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“Marry Shelly is an amazing writer, this book is written amazingly, it's beautiful and knowing Mary Shelly's life makes it truely gut wrenching. I wish it was more of the actual outbreak as thats what im personally interested in but for it's time it's revolutionary and the ending is pretty good but I don't think I'm going to reread this anytime soon”hylianchai
Created 3 months agoShare
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“I have such mixed feelings about this book 😭 I've always loved how beautifully Mary Shelley writes, (basing this entirely off Frankenstein lmao) with her imagery, characters, referencing and overall story weaving. BUT while it was hard at moments to put down every time I read, it was SO hard to pick up.
For the last few months, literally several times a day I've kept trying to pinpoint why I couldn't bring myself to pick this book up, why, in many parts, I was struggling to get through a chapter,and I THINK I can narrow it down to two main issues:
First is the pacing: There's time skips of sometimes months or years, and it's often quite sudden. I think it detracts from any kind of emotional build up. There's not much of that yet there's so much emotional outbursts. I haven't read Frankenstein in years but I felt there was so much emotional build up, especially with the Creature that you empathise with them.
Aside from time jumps, there are scenes and moments that aren't fleshed out enough, and some that are fleshed out too much. In The Last Man random characters who are close to our leads with no prior mention suddenly appear, don't even aid the overall story in the slightest and bow out. A lot of this is to show the effects of the plague but I'd much rather check in with a character like Adrian and how he is going and what the effects of being the Lord Protector is having on him.
I think people will defend that it's epic in its scope and contrasts against the more character driven Frankenstein. but part one of The Last Man was excellently written and super character driven, all for that to unravel in part two, which might be the point, especially because surviving in the midst of humanity ending might mean that maybe we have to focus on more than our four leads, but it became sooo drawwwwnn outtt, with description after description of every person and city the plague hit.
This brings me to my second issue, which is not actually an issue but more of an observation: this is an incredibly self indulgent novel by Mary Shelley. Writing this after the death of her husband, alongside her friend Lord Byron, WHILE she was going through a plague in her time, there are so many similarities between her husband and Adrian, alongside Ryland and Byron. While we all went through our plague a few years ago, at the very least I can take comfort that I have loved ones around me. Mary Shelley's plague had been the final nail in taking away all her loved ones. I can't imagine how frustrated and sad she must have felt, having had the world take away her loved ones. This novel is incredibly personal, and like many writers, I feel like this novel was her way of letting out her anguish, frustration and overall thoughts, as well as giving herself agency in a society and world that took away a lot from her. Viewing the novel from this perspective, why would she even think of an audience?
Anyway I love Mary Shelley and while this book frustrates me, I appreciate it for what it is. I almost feel like it shouldn't have been published since it feels like such a personal work.
Two moments I really adored from this book was Adrian finally breaking and letting out his fear to Lionel on their way to Switzerland in part 3. I also really adored how it ended with a sign of hope and the comfort of nature, and a sense of adoration for the diversity of humanity and Earth.”About Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was born in London in 1797, daughter of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, famous radical writers of the day. She is the author of Frankenstein (1818), The Last Man (1826), and other works. John Havard (introduction) teaches at the State University of New York, Binghamton, where his work focuses on 18th-century and Romantic literature and political culture. His essays about literature and politics have appeared in The New Rambler, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and Public Books. Rebecca Solnit (foreword) is the author of more than 20 books, including Orwell's Roses, Recollections of My Nonexistence, A Field Guide to Getting Lost, and Men Explain Things to Me. She is a regular contributor to The Guardian and other publications.
Other books by Mary Shelley
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