The Purple Cloud

Author: M. P. Shiel

M.P. Shiel was a prolific author of excitable stories for the popular magazines of the day: he was, among other things, the person who gave us The Yellow Peril. But his best story was rather more considered and more interesting than most of his other work. The Purple Cloud was part of a long tradition of British scientific romances about the last man on earth, a tradition that stretches back at least to Mary Shelley's The Last Man. In Shiel's story, Adam Jeffson is on an expedition to the north pole when he witnesses a curious purple cloud. When he gets back to his ship, he finds all his companions have died. As he travels on, he discovers that he is alone in the world. For a while he goes mad, building an extravagant palace for himself, and burning down several cities at random. Then he discovers a girl who has also survived, and the novel ends with the two of them together and a suggestion that the purple cloud has returned. Why it's on the list: H.G. Wells said that The Purple Cloud was brilliant, and H.P. Lovecraft also praised it. It was a work that seemed to strike a chord with authors and readers of the day. To a modern day reader it may seem over the top, but it has been regularly reprinted throughout the century since it was first published, and still stands up as an excellent example of the last man story.