From the creator of Frankenstein comes an incredible apocalyptic science-fiction tale of love and redemption in the time of plague.
In 1862, the mother of science-fiction, Mary Shelley, published this story that takes place from 2073 to 2100. A black sun and violent storms presage the outbreak of a viral infectious plague that spreads across Europe. The characters are based on many historical figures from Shelley's own life, including her husband, the famous English poet Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron. THE LAST MAN not only laments the loss of Shelley's friends, but also questions the Romantic political ideals for which they stood, a metaphor for how the revolutionary idyll of the élite group is corroded from within. As literary scholar Kari Lokke writes, "in its refusal to place humanity at the center of the universe, its questioning of our privileged position in relation to nature, then, THE LAST MAN constitutes a profound and prophetic challenge to Western humanism."