At Long Last, The Last Man
At long last, the release of my very first audiobook The Last Man !
Made during the global pandemic, about a global pandemic in an imagined future, it was penned by Mary Shelley in 1823 and published in 1826.
Often characterized as the first dystopian novel, this remarkable sweeping epic travels time and space in grand poetic style, panning some twenty five years and crossing countries and continents. Written in three volumes, the tale captures the complex effects of a worldwide pandemic on relationships, politics, the economy and daily life. It is a vivid recounting of a life lived in the midst of worldwide plague by the last surviving man on earth, Lionel Verney. There are stories of selfish leaders who abandon their duties in the midst of rolling losses. There are shipwrecks and snowstorms and destructive religious cult leaders and roving bands of disenfranchised Americans (no kidding) who resort to ad-hoc lawlessness in order to survive. Seems timely. In fact, the scope of this futuristic tale, which commences in 2073 and ends at the doorstep of 2100, was so broad and complete that many felt it was a form of false prophesy and the story was suppressed for many years. Nonetheless, it remained Shelley’s favorite work. She had every intention of writing a sequel to the original but never completed one.
When I mentioned The Last Man as the first dystopian novel, my daughter, with both English and History majors, pointed to earlier works such as Margaret Cavendish’s The Blazing World, which though it is a utopian novel, deals with aspects of what is dystopian. Some would argue that the utopian/dystopian themes are two sides of the same coin. And maybe they are in an Escher-like way. She also said that she wasn’t sure that a novel like The Last Man would sell well today since it wouldn’t provide the longed-for escape many are looking for during this difficult time period. I have to politely disagree. My own thought is the fact that the story is being told at all is a sign of a hope verging on hysteria. Who, after enduring all that Lionel Verney had, would take the time to document their incredible adventure here on earth unless they had the hope that someone someday would earnestly listen to their story? In that way, it is an act of unmitigated faith.
Speaking of earnest listeners, my amazing and kind husband, Raymond Berg, edited this audiobook series. As a long time composer, arranger and professional musician it is perhaps only natural that he would be inspired to sit down and set music to the epic tale. Written in a Romantic musical style that might have been created contemporaneously with Shelley’s tale, it is a richly picturesque series of themes that are written for a small chamber orchestra. It is our hope is to present both the story and his original music in tandem in a live performance venue in a Covid-free world. Who knows when that will be? Until that time, you can listen to The Last Man on the audiobook produced for Spoken Realms and Audio Visceral Productions now available on Audible.