Mary Shelley’s 1826 novel The Last Man is set in the late 21st century and follows the story of a deadly contagion that spreads due to human conflict and war, ultimately leaving only one human survivor. The novel has gained new attention in recent years due to global issues like climate change and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused millions of deaths worldwide. The Last Man is considered a foundational text in the postapocalyptic fiction genre, influencing modern works such as the TV series The Last of Us and Station Eleven, as well as classic films like I Am Legend and 28 Days Later. The novel is an epic, three-volume story that begins as a court romance in the environs of Windsor Castle in the late 21st century. However, by the end of the first volume, the romantic plot unravels into personal and political betrayals that lead to the collapse of England’s fledgling democracy. In the second volume, the main characters—Lord Raymond and Prince Adrian—leave to fight in the Greek war for independence against the Ottoman Empire. A deadly plague, originating from the battlefield near Constantinople, spreads globally, devastating populations and leading to the collapse of societies. Mary Shelley, the daughter of philosopher and writer Mary Wollstonecraft, identified deeply with the themes of The Last Man. After the death of her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, in 1822, and the loss of three of their four children, she recorded her grief in a journal known as the Journal of Sorrow. The novel’s plague symbolized the tragedies she endured, and she later noted that the character Lord Raymond was inspired by her friend Lord Byron, while Prince Adrian was modeled after her late husband. For modern readers, The Last Man resonates with contemporary concerns about environmental and political crises. The novel portrays extreme weather and war as catalysts for disaster, with the siege of Constantinople worsening the heat and contributing to the spread of the plague. The collapse of global cooperation in containing the contagion leads to chaos, civil war, and the near-extinction of humanity. Yet, even in this bleak vision, Shelley offers a glimmer of hope. The protagonist, Lionel Verney, survives by relying on nature and the remnants of human civilization. He eventually decides to write a book titled The History of the Last Man, which turns out to be the novel itself. In a final act of hope, Verney sets out on a journey to find other survivors and rebuild a more humane world.