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Last Man
Last Man | Mary Shelley
A futuristic story of tragic love and of the gradual extermination of the human race by plague, The Last Man is Mary Shelley's most important novel after Frankenstein. With intriguing portraits of Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron, the novel offers a vision of the future that expresses a reaction against Romanticism, and demonstrates the failure of the imagination and of art to redeem the doomed characters. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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SpaceCowboyBooks
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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Today's reading

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eeclayton
The Last Man | Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
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Panpan

I finished it but I can't say I liked this book.
Many things bugged me, mainly the terribly overwritten, tediously poetic prose. Don't get me wrong, each sentence is beautiful, but I grew impatient with reading all these long descriptions and sentimental monologues. I almost DNFed. Luckily, an audiobook version on Spotify came to the rescue, which allowed me to go on with the story while doing other things (mainly crocheting).

eeclayton This was my #bookspin for August @TheAromaofBooks 2y
TheAromaofBooks At least it's off the list!! 2y
eeclayton @TheAromaofBooks Oh yeah 😎 2y
14 likes3 comments
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BC_Dittemore
The Last Man | Mary Shelley

Men love a prop so well, that they will lean on a pointed poison spear;

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BC_Dittemore
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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Mother of the world! Servant of the Omnipotentl eternal, changeless Necessity! who with busy fingers sittest ever weaving the indissoluble chain of events!-I will not murmur at thy acts. If my human mind cannot acknowledge that all that is, is right; yet, since what is, must be, I will sit amidst the ruins and smile. Truly we were not born to enjoy, but to submit, and to hope.

Nute Welcome to Litsy! It‘s a warm and friendly community. I know that you will enjoy yourself here. I‘m looking forward to getting to know you!🙂
Check out #LitsyEvents for a varied listing of fun-related happenings within this neighborhood of fellow readers.🤗
2y
3 likes1 stack add1 comment
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morgankayj
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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Haul! A Series of unfortunate events #6 by Lemony Snicket, and The Last Man by Mary Shelley, bought at Half Price Books today. Also, my mom sent me the ultimate reading challenge, which I'm super excited about!

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Thana_tos
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
Pickpick

Great book for an imagination of a post_ plague world.

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kplovesbooks
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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Pickpick

⭐⭐⭐ The most depressing book I have ever read (and yes it gets 3 stars anyway). Since Covid this hits a bit closer to home as Shelley describes the spread of the plague, fear of the contagion, the decline of mankind. Really makes you think what if?

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kplovesbooks
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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This quote though. 😭

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kplovesbooks
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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66% ...the plague is in full force now, and it's a bit difficult to read it now since Covid. 😐 (But check out this nice cover of the book that I found online!)

28 likes1 stack add
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JenniferdeBie
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
Pickpick

Few people know that Mary Shelley pioneered two great science fiction genres, rather than just one. Frankenstein, her first novel, stands still as a pillar in the pantheon of genre fiction, but The Last Man is perhaps her true science fiction masterpiece. Masterfully crafted, and riddled with Shelley's personal grief over the loss of her loved ones, TLM is possibly my favorite from her oeuvre and easily one of my favorite texts to teach.

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kplovesbooks
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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😜

31 likes1 stack add
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kplovesbooks
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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37% into this 600 page book...and it's only JUST NOW mentioning the main topic of the plague for the first time. 😂😂 Shelley apparently wanted us to have major backstory before getting to the plot; it's been describing the characters' various emotions, personalities, and circumstances for over 200 pages! I'm enjoying reading it though!

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kplovesbooks
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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Well I felt that one. 😢 Some of the classic writers sure did know how to dramatically describe emotions.

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kplovesbooks
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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Okay, but...how did I not know this book existed??

23 likes4 stack adds
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Therewillbebooks
Last Man | Mary Shelley
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Just posted our new episode! We choose a creepy October book and Peter gives us his final thoughts on the new Sally Rooney. Oh, and breakfast cereal enters into the mix too. Please enjoy responsibly.

https://anchor.fm/peter-murphy8/episodes/Episode-69-October-Book-Nominations-Fin...

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vlwelser
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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#BookSpinBingo update. I have 4 books left. That should be doable. Right?
@TheAromaofBooks

TheSpineView You can do it!👍🤩📚 4y
TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! You're making fabulous progress. And don't forget - you have until August 2, not just the end of the month! 4y
35 likes2 comments
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vlwelser
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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Panpan

From someone whose imagination created Frankenstein, I expected more from this. Basically, she imagined the world 250 years into her future exactly as it was in her present. It is interesting from a historical perspective. Imagine if there were no world wars, Ireland was still a colony, America is still a wilderness mostly, and women have no rights. No thanks. Oh. And then a plague kills everyone.

#BookSpinBingo square 8
@TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks haha that doesn't sound very exciting! 4y
vlwelser @TheAromaofBooks I think there might be a reason that time forgot this one. It's about 600 pages of nothing. It should have been a short story. Or a haiku. 4y
TheAromaofBooks hahaha I have DEFINITELY read books that should have been shortened into haiku! 😂 4y
39 likes3 comments
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Tamra
Last Man | Mary Shelley
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Well, this is rather apropos of the current climate. I ran across it doing cursory bibliography research on Shelley. 1826

DrexEdit I‘ve got this queued up on @SerialReader. Soon as I find a few minutes in the day, I‘ll get to it!😊 4y
SamAnne I‘ve become hooked on Serial Reader! 4y
75 likes5 stack adds2 comments
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Settings
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
Mehso-so

The politics and romance in the first part was surprisingly much better than the promised apocalyptic last part - which is just a slow drag to the inevitable.

Shelley sees her culture, country, and race as superior to others. I think here that's not just an aside - it partially explains why the apocalypse lacks any real emotional impact. It influences what she chooses to focus on and just makes a lot of things seem ridiculous.

Settings Paraphrased example - The party arrives in France. "Go back" say the French, "The climate in England is so much better." 4y
38 likes1 comment
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Settings
The Last Man | Mary Shelley

Though I was almost done with this - turns out I'd only downloaded part of the audiobook files.

Explains the "bizarre pacing" lol

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Caroline2
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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Apparently this is a futuristic story of tragic love and the gradual extermination of the human race from the plague. Sounds #grim but I couldn‘t resist this gorgeous Folio edition! 😯 #scarathlon #ChillingPhotoChallenge #teamstoker

CoffeeCatsBooks I have this one too, but I still need to read it. 4y
tournevis It's a good one, the OG last man tale from all others (so many) last man stories owe their birth @CoffeeCatsBooks 4y
Clare-Dragonfly I wanted to love this book but found it interminable. 4y
See All 7 Comments
Reviewsbylola Beautiful edition! 4y
BeansPage 🧟‍♀️ 4y
DrexEdit I just started this on serial reads! 😊 4y
Caroline2 @DrexEdit good idea! I‘ve not done a serial book for agesssss! 👍 4y
79 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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toofondofbooks
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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Panpan

Oh man I had to force myself to finish this. I love Frankenstein. Do not expect anything as good if you pick this one up.

BookishTrish I remember really liking this when I was in my 20s but don‘t really remember it. Has it not aged well? Or was it just not for you? 6y
toofondofbooks @BookishTrish It was a lot of long poetic prose, and I guess I was just hoping for more of an idea of what Shelley pictured as the future. But other than hot air balloons for speedy travel, her 21st century didn't look much different than 1826. It just needed something more going on than the narrator lamenting for pages and pages. It just wasn't for me. 6y
BookishTrish I think I had a lot more patience for long poetic prose and lamenting in my youth... 6y
23 likes3 comments
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toofondofbooks
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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#audiocrocheting while listening to tagged book. It is funny seeing how someone writing in 1826 envisioned the 21st Century with no frame of reference for the technology we have now. For Shelley it seems 2073 is very similar to 1826 except hot air balloons are the way to travel. 😂

Sace That is beautiful! 5y
35 likes1 comment
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HotCocoaReads
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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Mehso-so

The Last Man is by no means as good as Frankenstein, not even close. Some parts were so overly descriptive, and I really struggled getting through this book. Also, I couldn‘t speed read it at all—maybe it‘s the older language and certain words would trip me up. It‘s one of the first dystopian novels written, 200 years ago—the problem is that there was nothing to show it was 2098 because there were no technological advances. 🤔

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TheNeverendingTBR
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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The Last Man is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel, which was first published in 1826. The book tells of a future world that has been ravaged by a plague.

Last one, couldn't help buying this one due to the description on the back, I like post-apocalyptic fiction; it's my favourite. I'm strange. 😬

#maryshelley
#postapocalyptic
#book
#bookhaul

Amiable I love post-apocalyptic lit, too! So I'm also strange. 🙂 6y
CaitlinR Thank you for this. Looking forward to reading the title. 6y
TEArificbooks Post apocalyptic lit is the best 6y
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Velvetfur Nothing wrong with being strange! 😀 6y
JFB Never knew abt this book - thanks! 6y
Kimberlone Funny, my Dover edition of Frankenstein has that same painting on the cover! 6y
BookNerd9906 Never heard of this book, thanks for sharing. And also a lover of dystopian novels. ❤️ 6y
99 likes11 stack adds7 comments
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Moray_Reads
The Last Man | Mary Shelley
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I've been so bad at challenges recently so I'm trying to get back into the habit with a postapocalyptic late 21st future as imagined by Mary Shelley in 1826. Remarkable as an early example of a genre that I usually see as modern and fascinating portraits of the important #male figures in Mary's life; her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron. I prefer this to Frankenstein! #maylovesclassics @Sarah83 @Bambolina_81

Heideschrampf Awesome! Especially in combination with the hyper romantisist cover 😍 is it a folio society edition? (edited) 6y
Moray_Reads @Heideschrampf of course 😍 It's extremely Romantic which is a pretty powerful contest with the extremely bleak plot. Bleak but beautiful. I loved it 6y
Sarah83 Awwww.. What a gorgeous pic. 😍 6y
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Moray_Reads @Sarah83 the chair is almost as old as the (original) book so it seemed fitting! 6y
Hooked_on_books What a beautiful cover! 6y
Sarah83 What a wonderful idea. 😊 6y
Kalalalatja I didn‘t know this book was a thing, but now I need it in my life! 😍 6y
ladym30 Stunning cover! 6y
jillrhudy I‘m ashamed to say I‘ve never heard of it! 6y
Moray_Reads @Kalalalatja @jillrhudy apparently it was slated at the time of publication and has largely fallen off the radar but I think it's stunning 6y
HardcoverHearts 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻Folio Society books! 6y
jillrhudy I can never think of Mary any more without thinking of Kate Beaton‘s “Hark! A Vagrant” comic strip about her. Be advised this is quite naughty and rude, as, I‘m sure, the men in her circle were. http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=56 6y
Moray_Reads @jillrhudy oh these are great! I haven't seen them before 6y
saresmoore I don‘t know how I‘ve never read this! I should‘ve known better than to scroll through your feed. Your posts are whittling away my resolve. 6y
TricksyTails 😍😍😍 That cover! 6y
DivineDiana Beautiful book! ❤️ (edited) 6y
73 likes6 stack adds16 comments
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readinginthedark
The Last Man | Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
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Placed my first Folio Society order today! I requested a catalogue, too, so I know this is going to become a bad habit for my bank acct...🙈 The Last Man and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man! Total blame #FolioFreaks #blameLitsy buy!

Jess_Read_This Ohhh!! I can't wait to see them!! 😱❤️❤️❤️ 7y
LeahBergen Eeee!!! How exciting!! 😍 7y
Moray_Reads I'd the tagged book one you've ordered? 7y
See All 18 Comments
readinginthedark @Moray_Reads Yes! I had never heard of it before, but it sounds so interesting! And the few pictures I saw were gorgeous! 7y
Moray_Reads @readinginthedark I have this edition and I love the story. It's an odd best as such an early apocalyptic novel but it's wonderful 7y
elkeOriginal Congrats! And welcome to the cult..I mean CLUB 😁 7y
ScorpioBookDreams You'll not regret this! 7y
Kalalalatja @elkeo 😂😂 and welcome, welcome! There's always room for another in the club 👏 7y
rubyslippersreads Can't wait to see pictures! 😍📚 @elkeo was right when she said cult. And all the cult members are enablers. 😂 7y
JenP They send emails too. They are evil 😂 7y
readinginthedark @elkeo @ScorpioBookDreams @Kalalalatja @rubyslippersreads @JenP Thanks! 😂I know...I've spent most of the day wondering how long I can last before I have to tell my husband about them... 7y
DeborahSmall You're in trouble! 😂❤️ 7y
readinginthedark @DeborahSmall I know!😆I've already browsed the site so many times, adding books to my cart and taking them out. I need to make a Wish List and be done with it...temporarily, at least. 7y
DeborahSmall I have a special journal with lists of folios. I had my birthday wish list, the sale wish list now it's my one a month wish list!! But I also add and remove from basket all the time. I'm determined to get at least one more in the sale. Especially now I know it runs into August and won't effect my July book buying ban which actually translates to only buying 3/4 books per week 😂💕 7y
readinginthedark @DeborahSmall It goes into August! 😯🙈I'n happy for you, but that's so bad/tempting for me! I'm gonna' be spending a bunch of money on school supplies and stuff for my son, so I doubt I'll have any more to spend this time around. I'll just have to wait. 😕 7y
DeborahSmall They start back school in September here and we go to Spain for 12 days at the end of August. If I wasn't saving for that I'd spend every penny on folios 🙈 7y
56 likes18 comments
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hernanderson
The Last Man | Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
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4 likes1 stack add
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hernanderson
The Last Man | Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
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reading with #serialreader 👍