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The Last Man
From the author of Frankenstein comes this apocalyptic tale of a world devastated by plague. Mary Shelley's 1826 roman à clef takes place in the late twenty-first century, as England's last king abdicates and a charmed circle of idealistic political reformers plunges into a maelstrom of war, pestilence, and anarchy.Â
Shelley wrote this gripping novel after the untimely deaths of her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and their comrade, Lord Byron. She modeled a pair of characters on the charismatic poets and based the narrator — the sole survivor of a pandemic — on her own persona. This parable of humanity's destruction by plague is widely regarded as a repudiation of Romanticism and its failure to solve the world's problems through art and philosophy. It reflects the ways utopian ideals, unchecked by moral and ethical standards, can shatter society.Â
Misunderstood by nineteenth-century readers, Shelley's visionary novel disappeared for over a century, only to reemerge to critical acclaim as a precursor of science fiction and a forerunner of modern apocalyptic tales. Novelist Muriel Spark hailed it as the harbinger of "an entirely new genre, compounded of the domestic romance, the Gothic extravaganza, and the sociological novel," and pronounced it Shelley's "most interesting, if not her consummate work."
Shelley wrote this gripping novel after the untimely deaths of her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and their comrade, Lord Byron. She modeled a pair of characters on the charismatic poets and based the narrator — the sole survivor of a pandemic — on her own persona. This parable of humanity's destruction by plague is widely regarded as a repudiation of Romanticism and its failure to solve the world's problems through art and philosophy. It reflects the ways utopian ideals, unchecked by moral and ethical standards, can shatter society.Â
Misunderstood by nineteenth-century readers, Shelley's visionary novel disappeared for over a century, only to reemerge to critical acclaim as a precursor of science fiction and a forerunner of modern apocalyptic tales. Novelist Muriel Spark hailed it as the harbinger of "an entirely new genre, compounded of the domestic romance, the Gothic extravaganza, and the sociological novel," and pronounced it Shelley's "most interesting, if not her consummate work."
Reprint of the Henry Colburn, London, 1826 edition.
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Description
From the author of Frankenstein comes this apocalyptic tale of a world devastated by plague. Mary Shelley's 1826 roman à clef takes place in the late twenty-first century, as England's last king abdicates and a charmed circle of idealistic political reformers plunges into a maelstrom of war, pestilence, and anarchy.Â
Shelley wrote this gripping novel after the untimely deaths of her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and their comrade, Lord Byron. She modeled a pair of characters on the charismatic poets and based the narrator — the sole survivor of a pandemic — on her own persona. This parable of humanity's destruction by plague is widely regarded as a repudiation of Romanticism and its failure to solve the world's problems through art and philosophy. It reflects the ways utopian ideals, unchecked by moral and ethical standards, can shatter society.Â
Misunderstood by nineteenth-century readers, Shelley's visionary novel disappeared for over a century, only to reemerge to critical acclaim as a precursor of science fiction and a forerunner of modern apocalyptic tales. Novelist Muriel Spark hailed it as the harbinger of "an entirely new genre, compounded of the domestic romance, the Gothic extravaganza, and the sociological novel," and pronounced it Shelley's "most interesting, if not her consummate work."
Shelley wrote this gripping novel after the untimely deaths of her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and their comrade, Lord Byron. She modeled a pair of characters on the charismatic poets and based the narrator — the sole survivor of a pandemic — on her own persona. This parable of humanity's destruction by plague is widely regarded as a repudiation of Romanticism and its failure to solve the world's problems through art and philosophy. It reflects the ways utopian ideals, unchecked by moral and ethical standards, can shatter society.Â
Misunderstood by nineteenth-century readers, Shelley's visionary novel disappeared for over a century, only to reemerge to critical acclaim as a precursor of science fiction and a forerunner of modern apocalyptic tales. Novelist Muriel Spark hailed it as the harbinger of "an entirely new genre, compounded of the domestic romance, the Gothic extravaganza, and the sociological novel," and pronounced it Shelley's "most interesting, if not her consummate work."
Reprint of the Henry Colburn, London, 1826 edition.
science fiction;dystopia;plague;pandemic;apocalypse;last survivor;lone survivor;isolation;england;king;abdication;political reform;war;anarchy;parable;humanitys destruction;romanticism;anti romanticism;art;beauty;utopia;idealism;ethics;morality;philosophy;original sin;gothic;domestic romance;epidemic;republic;politics;social reform;social issues;starvation;population growth;human nature;altruism;survival;biological warfare;gender;female author; wollstonecraft shelley;greek independence;caleb williams;lord raymond;careful editor;apocalyptic plague;english studies;late 21st;perkin warbeck;plague hits;apocalyptic future;lord protector;highly idealized;british monarchy;biological warfare;romantic poets;earth abides;deadly plague;richly complex;english literature;science fiction;human race;21st century;chron;evadne;mellor;2073;virulence;abdicates;2080s;1826;2100;idris;clef;abdicated;byronic;ornament;extravaganza;replicated;windsor;muriel;turks;romanticism;science-fiction;greeks;frankenstein;kicks;republic;mankind;post-apocalyptic science fiction;early science fiction;lionel verney;jane austen;britain;greece;london;istanbul;books on greeks;books on mellor;books on english studies;books on british monarchies;books on lord raymonds;books on greek independences;books on science-fictions;books on ornaments;books on biological warfares;books on muriel;books on romanticisms;books on chron;books on turks;books on careful editors;books on lord protectors;books on extravaganzas;books on human races;books on clefs;books on romantic poets;books on republics;books on early science fictions;books on virulences;books on mankind;books on apocalyptic futures;books on frankenstein;books on caleb williams;books on science fictions;books on 21st centuries;books on english literatures;books on idris;books on windsor;books on post-apocalyptic science fictions
