The Last Man

Mary Shelley was a British novelist short story writer dramatist essayist biographer and travel writer whose gothic style and progressive ideas have had a permanent influence on literary history. Daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Shelley quickly developed ideas about female independence sexual freedom and how to compromise in the face of nineteenth century English convention. Her 1826 novel The Last Man reflects Shelleys fears about civilization and the shortcomings of human behavior. The narrator discovers a prophetic manuscript written in 2100 by the last survivor of a twenty-first century apocalypse which recounts how a deadly plague spread throughout Europe and the world. The scribe Lionel Verney describes a world that is both fantasy and a reflection of Shelleys reality. She used this novel to scrutinize the machinations of politics and philosophy and reflect upon pitfalls of human behavior--selfishness brutality pride--that she saw in the world around her. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.