Despite the eventual title of the Nostalgistudio book it led to, The Last Man as presented in this blog is still very much a work by Mary Shelley. In countless instances, her admirable prose appears exactly as she left it; as lovers of Frankenstein well know, she is a brilliant and compelling writer–one whose hastily written and historically under-recognized work it was a joy and privilege to edit. Yet follow the menu link “Original” to Project Gutenberg’s full on-line text, and you’ll find differences in virtually every line between her novel and the version here.
Two more rounds of edits intervened between the completion of this WordPress project and the eventual publication of Not Mary Shelley’s The Last Man in late 2024. So–unless otherwise indicated–the texts posted in thelastman.blog are not, in the publisher’s opinion, quite as fine at every point as they eventually became.
What it may lack in finesse, however, the blog makes up for in enthusiasm and abundance of content. Over 50 posts offer a cornucopia of art, music, poetry, portraiture, science and history, maps, costume sketches, and daydream-worthy luxury travel encounters; the “Serial” tab on the menu offers easy access and a selection of favorites. The “Volumes” tab offers an approximation of how the work was originally published, in three parts. Among the installments, one background essay (26) explores how Mary Shelley’s mother, the “firebrand liberal” Mary Wollstonecraft, and her critique of conservative writer Edmund Burke fits into the book–or fails to; another (47) talks about pack animals. Each post includes the date of its original publication; for reader ease, as of March 2025 they’ve been arranged to start at the beginning.
The comment boxes remain wide open.