The Last Man
by Mary Shelley
The Last Man (1826) is Mary Shelley's apocalyptic novel set in the late 21st century, as a devastating plague sweeps across the world and destroys civilization. Narrated by Lionel Verney — the last surviving human — the novel follows a group of friends navigating political upheaval, personal tragedy, and the collapse of society. Drawing on Shelley's own losses and the deaths of Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Last Man is now recognized as a pioneering work of dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction.