Mary Shelley, known for her classic novel Frankenstein, wrote another less known novel, The Last Man, published in 1826. The novel was considered too dark for the time and was not reprinted until the 1960s. But with today’s love for horror, the tale would be a hit and is begging to be adapted.
Called “a sickening repetition of horrors,” by one reviewer, the dystopian tale is set in 2100 in England. The people in the novel travel in ballons and the rest of the world is at peace, save for Greece and Turkey who are at war. Narrator, Lione Verney recounts the story of his life before becoming the last man alive after a plague sweeps the world. He witnesses the breakdown of society and the growth of doomsday cults as people struggle to find a cure for the plague, to uncover where it came from and what caused it.
The Last Man was the first apocalyptic written in English and brings to light many of the things that frightened the people of the Victorian era.
The reason the novel did not receive more attention, besides its dark content, was due to society’s lack of respect for female authors at the time and the fact that Sheely was still a teenager. Thank god things have changed. I’m sure that Victorian society would be shocked at the fame and respect Mary Shelley has found in the present day.
If you would like to read Shelley’s The Last Man you can pick up your copy on Amazon.
