The Last Man

"This Norton Critical Edition of The Last Man features Mary Shelley's original 1826 science-fiction text with editorial annotations. One of the first dystopian novels, The Last Man examines the end of Romantic ideals in British government and follows a mysterious plague which nearly wipes out the Earth's population. The "Contexts" section provides philosophies and insights from thinkers who would have influenced Mary Shelley such as Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, as well as her contemporaries, including her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley and close friend, Lord Byron. In the "Criticism" section, scholars provide modern analyses through the lenses of feminism, race, queerness, and even the AIDS epidemic. A selected bibliography and chronology are also included"--