About the Author

Jean-Baptiste Francois Xavier Cousin de Grainville (1746-1805) was ordained a priest in 1766, left the priesthood during the French Revolution, and died in 1805. Le Dernier Homme (The Last Man) was his life's work. A world-renowned scholar of early science fiction, Ian Clarke was Foundation Professor of English Studies at Strathclyde University. Margaret Clarke was a Lecturer in English in a College of Education.

Reviews

"Morton D. Paley describes Le dernier homme, written in the aftermath of the Terror of the French revolution and the violence of the Napoleonic wars, as 'the projection of a whole culture's anxiety about its own survival.' The same might be said of the revival of the Last Man narrative at the dawn of the twenty-first century...Given that Grainville's work touches upon all the problems bringing us to the point of apocalypse today, the need to revisit his work and the subgenre he founded now seems more compelling than ever."--Amy J. Ransom, Science Fiction Studies"Grainville's novel is like a textbook discourse on how we began to understand that time past becomes time future; the intimate relationship in its pages between Ruins and Futurity neatly and comprehensively illuminates the 18th century European mind beginning to become 'our' European mind. To have this book available will give context to the whole field of early science fiction."--John Clute, co-author of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction"A crucial document in the early history and ideology of what became science fiction."--Gary Wolfe, author of The Known and the Unknown: The Iconography of Science Fiction"Morton D. Paley describes Le dernier homme, written in the aftermath of the Terror of the French revolution and the violence of the Napoleonic wars, as 'the projection of a whole culture's anxiety about its own survival.' The same might be said of the revival of the Last Man narrative at the dawn of the twenty-first centuryGiven that Grainville's work touches upon all the problems bringing us to the point of apocalypse today, the need to revisit his work and the subgenre he founded now seems more compelling than ever."--Amy J. Ransom, Science Fiction Studies"As we live today amid fears of overpopulation, global warming, and increased violence, we can look back and see just how insightful and prophetic both Shelley and Grainville were Perhaps they are prophets of a future we have yet to face."--The Gothic Wanderer