Jean-Baptiste Cousin de Grainville, dit Grainville

Le Dernier Homme, seconde édition publiée par Charles Nodier Paris, chez Ferra ainé et Deterville, 1811 Two volumes in-12, xii, 200, & 2 fnch, 175 pp, 1 fnch (errata), 1/2 vellum, marbled paper boards, binding made for the Bibliophile Jacob, with his engraved bookplate, some annotations in pencil, wide margin Good copy of the correct edition of the very first French apocalyptic science fiction novel, dealing with de-growth and the depletion of the Earth's resources. Men no longer have children, but they do have advanced aerial navigation (aerostation) and image management technology . The first edition of Le Dernier Homme appeared thanks to the mediation of Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, who, struck by the situations offered by Le Dernier Homme, persuaded the bookseller Déterville to publish it. In the publisher's opinion, it passed off very obscurely, unnoticed by a single journalist. There was at least one English translation and a review by Sir Herbert Croft. Marie Shelley quickly drew inspiration from it. Charles Nodier produced a highly corrected edition in two in-12 volumes, in May 1811, which, when it appeared, was greeted by critics as a great and astonishing conception of mind.