The Purple Cloud (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780141196428)

The first great science fiction novel of the twentieth century--now available from Penguin Classics

Strange, macabre, and, fantastical, M. P. Shiel's The Purple Cloud is a landmark work that heralded the genre of apocalyptic fiction. It tells the grandly bleak story of Adam Jeffson--the first man to reach the North Pole and the last man left alive on earth. A sweet-smelling cloud of poisonous gas has devastated the world, and as Jeffson travels the stricken globe in search of human life, he slowly succumbs to madness, unleashing fire and destruction on his planet. A new introduction by literary scholar John Sutherland explores The Purple Cloud's apocalyptic themes and Shiel's colorful private life.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Author: M. P. Shiel
ISBN-10: 0141196424
ISBN-13: 9780141196428
Publisher: Penguin Group
Language: English
Published: 11/27/2012
Pages: 295
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 7.70h x 5.00w x 0.80d

About the Author
M. P. Shiel (1865-1947) was an author of science fiction and detective stories, most notably The Purple Cloud.

John Sutherland is Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London and wrote the introduction to Chekhov's The Shooting Party for Penguin Classics.