History Literature / TheLastMan

* AccidentallyCorrectWriting: The spread of the plague is aided by the climate mysteriously becoming warmer and the intensity and frequency of storms increasing. The world seems to have made no effort to switch from fossil fuels, so this is disturbingly similar to the global warming we’re currently facing, even though that was discovered only near the end of the nineteenth century. By the end, when civilization has collapsed, the climate seems to return to normal.

The story is known for being initially having a troubled time in regards to publication, due to his dark and heavy themes of loneliness and loss, only beginning to receive appreciation by the 1960s. Even so, Mary Shelley later in her life wrote that it was one of her favorite books. ''The Last Man'' has various elements and a tonal atmosphere that is very similar to the {{Dystopia}}n genre, [[UnbuiltTrope which was yet to be popularized]] a century later with works like Literature/BraveNewWorld and Literature/NineteenEightyFour.

* APetIntoTheWild: Companion animals are forced to live wild by their owners dying.

* NextSundayAD: The story takes place in the late 21st Century, but as this was written in the early 19th Century, there is relatively little advancement shown regarding technology, common knowledge, social norms, and political understanding.
** One notable advancement that they do have is the widespread use of balloons for air travel, though this breaks down by the end of the book as civilization falls.

* TomeOfFate: In the novel’s opening in 1818 Mary Shelley explains to the reader that she discovered inside the Sibly’s cave near Naples, a series of prophetic writing on a collection leaves written by the Cumaean Sibyl and she has translated them into the novel’s current narrative in the 21st century.

* TomeOfFate: In the novel’s opening Mary Shelley explains to the reader that she discovered inside the Sibly’s cave near Naples, a series of prophetic writing on a collection leaves written by the Cumaean Sibyl and she has translated them into the novel’s current narrative in the 21st century.

''The Last Man'' is an 1826 {{Science Fiction}} {{Dystopian}} [[{{Main/TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt}} Apocalyptic]] novel written by Creator/MaryShelley, supposedly taking place in the 21st Century. Its depiction of this century is, unsurprisingly, somewhat similar to retrofuturism, though with less emphasis on technological change than many stories set in the future. As the title indicates, it details a plague that sweeps throughout the world, infecting and decimating the entirety of Mankind, and survivors trying to maintain their will to live in addition to trying to fight off against hostile human settlements. The central focus is a man named Lionel Verney, an orphan whose troubling behaviour leads him to the former (the monarchy having been abolished) King of England‘s son, Adrian, where the two of them become friends and chronicles Lionel's life from this first meeting all the way to adulthood.

''The Last Man'' is an 1826 [[{{Main/TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt}} Apocalyptic]] novel written by Creator/MaryShelley, supposedly taking place in the 21st Century. Its depiction of this century is, unsurprisingly, somewhat similar to retrofuturism, though with less emphasis on technological change than many stories set in the future. As the title indicates, it details a plague that sweeps throughout the world, infecting and decimating the entirety of Mankind, and survivors trying to maintain their will to live in addition to trying to fight off against hostile human settlements. The central focus is a man named Lionel Verney, an orphan whose troubling behaviour leads him to the former (the monarchy having been abolished) King of England‘s son, Adrian, where the two of them become friends and chronicles Lionel's life from this first meeting all the way to adulthood.

''The Last Man'' is an 1826 {{Main/TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Apocalyptic}} novel written by Creator/MaryShelley, supposedly taking place in the 21st Century. Its depiction of this century is, unsurprisingly, somewhat similar to retrofuturism, though with less emphasis on technological change than many stories set in the future. As the title indicates, it details a plague that sweeps throughout the world, infecting and decimating the entirety of Mankind, and survivors trying to maintain their will to live in addition to trying to fight off against hostile human settlements. The central focus is a man named Lionel Verney, an orphan whose troubling behaviour leads him to the former (the monarchy having been abolished) King of England‘s son, Adrian, where the two of them become friends and chronicles Lionel's life from this first meeting all the way to adulthood.

''The Last Man'' is an 1826 novel written by Creator/MaryShelley, supposedly taking place in the 21st Century. Its depiction of this century is, unsurprisingly, somewhat similar to retrofuturism, though with less emphasis on technological change than many stories set in the future. As the title indicates, it details a plague that sweeps throughout the world, infecting and decimating the entirety of Mankind, and survivors trying to maintain their will to live in addition to trying to fight off against hostile human settlements. The central focus is a man named Lionel Verney, an orphan whose troubling behaviour leads him to the former (the monarchy having been abolished) King of England‘s son, Adrian, where the two of them become friends and chronicles Lionel's life from this first meeting all the way to adulthood.

* SuperDrowningSkills: Perdita [[DrivenToSuicide commits suicide]] by throwing herself off a ship, unable to live out her life without Raymond. Later on, Clara and Adrian drown to death in an unexpected storm at the Adriatic Sea while trying to travel to Greece.

The book is divided into three volumes; Volume 1 centres on Lionel's life as a teenager when he first meets up with Adrian and becomes close friends and his role in politics, Volume 2 details Lionel defending his kingdom and his close ones from several attacks and a mysterious outbreak that is killing everyone it makes contact with, and Volume 3 is about the remaining survivors trying to find a new home where they would be free of contracting the disease.

The story is known for being initially having a troubled time in regards to publication, due to his dark and heavy themes of loneliness and loss, only beginning to receive appreciation by the 1960s. Mary Shelley later in life wrote that it was one of her favorite books. ''The Last Man'' has various elements and a tonal atmosphere that is very similar to the {{Dystopia}}n genre, [[UnbuiltTrope which was yet to be popularized]] a century later with works like Literature/BraveNewWorld and Literature/NineteenEightyFour.

''The Last Man'' is an 1826 novel written by Creator/MaryShelley, supposedly taking place in the 21st Century. Its depiction of this century is, unsurprisingly, somewhat similar to retrofuturism, though with less emphasis on technological change than many stories set in the future. As the title indicates, it details a plague that sweeps throughout the rest of the world, infecting and decimating the entirety of Mankind, and survivors trying to maintain their will to live in addition to trying to fight off against hostile human settlements. The central focus is a man named Lionel Verney, an orphan whose troubling behaviour leads him to the former (the monarchy having been abolished) King of England‘s son, Adrian, where the two of them become friends and chronicles Lionel's life from this first meeting all the way to adulthood.

The story is known for being initially having a troubled time in regards to publication, due to his dark and heavy themes of loneliness and loss, only beginning to receive appreciation by the 1960s. ''The Last Man'' has various elements and a tonal atmosphere that is very similar to the {{Dystopia}}n genre, [[UnbuiltTrope which was yet to be popularized]] a century later with works like Literature/BraveNewWorld and Literature/NineteenEightyFour.

''The Last Man'' is an 1826 novel written by Creator/MaryShelley, supposedly taking place in the 21st Century. Its depiction of this century is, unsurprisingly, somewhat similar to retrofuturism, though with less emphasis on technological change than many stories set in the future. As the title indicates, it details a plague that sweeps throughout the rest of the world, infecting and decimating the entirety of Mankind, and survivors trying to maintain their will to live in addition to trying to fight off against hostile human settlements. The central focus is a man named Lionel Verney, an orphan whose troubling behaviour leads him to the son of the former (the monarchy having been abolished) King of England‘s son, Adrian, where the two of them become friends and chronicles Lionel's life from this first meeting all the way to adulthood.

''The Last Man'' is a novel written by Creator/MaryShelley, supposedly taking place in the 21st Century. As the title indicates, it details a plague that sweeps throughout the rest of the world, infecting and decimating the entirety of Mankind, and survivors trying to maintain their will to live in addition to trying to fight off against hostile human settlements. The central focus is a man named Lionel Verney, an orphan whose troubling behaviour leads him to the King of England's son, Adrian, where the two of them become friends and chronicles Lionel's life from this first meeting all the way to adulthood.

* TheImmune: Lionel becomes the only known person in the whole world to develop symptoms of the plague and then recover, and thereafter he never develops the symptoms again. A small number of other characters don’t even develop symptoms. The cause of this is unknown, and Lionel interprets it as Fate willing that he survive, which is one of the few things that stop him from killing himself.

* TheImmune: Lionel becomes the only known person in the whole world to develop symptoms of the plague and then recover, and thereafter he never develops the symptoms again. A small number of other characters don’t even develop symptoms. The cause of this is unknown, and Lionel interprets it as Fate willing that he survive.

* AbsentMindedProfessor: In sharp contrast to Victor from Literature/Frankenstein, Merrival seems almost indifferent to life and death, barely acknowledging the apocalypse happening around him and instead studying the orbits of the planets and speculating about the future of Earth’s environments. When his family dies, he finally understands the seriousness of the situation.

The book is divided into three volumes; Volume 1 centres on Lionel's life as a teenager when he first meets up with Adrian and becomes close friends and his role in politics, Volume 2 details Lionel defending his kingdom and his close ones from several attacks and a mysterious outbreak that is killing everyone it makes contact with and Volume 3 is about the remaining survivors trying to find a new home where they would be free of contracting the disease.

* DownerEnding: In addition to being the last person alive and having a sheepdog as a companion, Lionel has no one of his kind to interact with anymore and even if he lives long enough, his race is doomed.
* DwindlingParty: A group of survivors attempt to travel to Switzerland as it's colder climate means that the plague would not be as contagious there. By the time they do reach there, only four of them are alive, and even then, three of them die not long after due to differing circumstances.
* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: Despite happening in the late 21st century, all European monarchies are still in place, the Ottoman Empire still exists, and so on.

* LastOfHisKind: The very title invokes this. True to its word, Lionel becomes the very last remaining member of the Human race by the end of the story.

* NextSundayAD: The story takes place in the late 21st Century, but as this was written in the early 19th Century, there is very little, if any, advancement shown regarding technology, common knowledge, social norms and political understanding.

* WalkingTheEarth: After losing Clara and Adrian in a flash flood during a sudden storm and making it to Raveena, Lionel decides to spend the remainder of his life travelling around Europe and Africa with an [[AnimalCompanion accompanying sheepdog]].

* NextSundayAD: The story takes place in the late 21st Century, but as this was written in the early 19th Century, there is very little, if any, advancement is shown regarding technology, common knowledge, social norms and political understanding.

* BrattyHalfPint: Lionel and Perdita grow to be this as children, a result of them never receiving parental care and discipline. Lionel recalls the time when he was lawless and opposing towards British nobility.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Lionel himself is a stand-in for Creator/MaryShelley. Adrian and Lord Raymond were respectively based on Creator/PercyByssheShelley and Creator/LordByron.

* WalkingTheEarth: After losing Clara and Adrian in a flash flood during a sudden storm and making it to Raveena, Lionel decides to spend the remainder of his life travelling around Europe and Africa with an [[AnimalCompanion accompanying sheepdog]].

* TheGreatPoliticsMessUp: Despite happening in the late 21st century, all European monarchies are still in place, the Ottoman empire still exists, and so on.