Le Dernier Homme
Title page of 1805 first edition of Le Dernier Homme | |
| Author | Jean-Baptiste Cousin de Grainville |
|---|---|
| Language | French |
| Genre | Science fantasy, Dying Earth |
| Publisher | Deterville |
Publication date | 1805 |
| Publication place | France |
| Media type | |
Le Dernier Homme (English: The Last Man) is a French science fantasy novel in the form of a prose poem. Written by Jean-Baptiste Cousin de Grainville and published in 1805, it was the first story of modern speculative fiction to depict the end of the world. Considered a seminal early work of science fantasy, specifically of the Dying Earth genre, it has been described by Gary K. Wolfe as "A crucial document in the early history... of what became science fiction".
In 1806, Le Dernier Homme was poorly translated into English as Omegarus and Syderia, a Romance in Futurity. The edition did not credit Grainville as author or indicate the text was a translation. This translation remained the only English version available until 2003, when a new translation by I.F. and Margaret Clarke was published.