The Last Man

The Last Man Mary Shelley most famous for Frankenstein also wrote several other novels and short stories. The Last Man was her second best-seller written about ten years after the publication of Frankenstein. The Last Man is an apocalyptic science fiction novel about tragic love and a future world that has been ravaged by a plague. It reflects Shelley's fears about civilization and the shortcomings of human behavior. Lionel Verney the narrator and last survivor of a twenty-first century plague recounts how he discovers a manuscript written in 2100. But aside from the novel being delightful and arguably obscure entertainment for the Romantic literature aficionado it is the foundation of English Sci-Fi from H.G. Wells to Arthur C. Clarke not to mention such works as The Stand by Stephen King and I am Legend by Richard Matheson.