The Last Man

Jean-Baptiste-F Cousin de Grainville. Wesleyan University Press, $17.95 (157pp) ISBN 978-0-8195-6608-9

As part of its Early Classics of Science Fiction series, Wesleyan presents The Last Man, first published in 1805 by Jean-Baptiste Francois Xavier Cousin de Grainville (1746-1805), in a new translation by I.F. and M. Clarke. This apocalyptic tale provided the prototype for later 19th-century writers like H.G. Wells who speculated on the end of humankind in their fiction.

Featured Fiction Reviews

Joseph Earl Thomas

The magnificent first novel from Thomas (Sink, a memoir) centers on an Iraq War veteran who works in a Philadelphia emergency room. Joey, who grew up in poverty, relies on Continue reading »

Briony Cameron

Cameron debuts with an exciting and multidimensional story inspired by the women pirates who sailed the Caribbean in the 17th century. Jacquotte Delahaye, who is of Haitian and Continue reading »

Marcela Fuentes

Fuentes debuts with the astonishing story of two malas, or women who challenge traditional Mexican gender norms. The year is 1951 and Pilar Aguirre, who is eight months pregnant Continue reading »

Scott Preston

Preston’s blistering debut takes place in the farthest reaches of northern England, on “cloud-eaten” fells battered by wind and inhabited mostly by sheep. There’s nothing much Continue reading »