Jean-Baptiste François 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.
"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
"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
"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
"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
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