A World on the Verge: Mary Shelley’s The Last Man - exhibition
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A world on the Verge: Mary Shelley's The Last Man
20 May 2026 - 21 November 2026
Two hundred years after the publication of The Last Man, Mary Shelley’s visionary novel returns to the spotlight in a new exhibition exploring the extraordinary contemporary relevance of the work, intertwining literature, personal memory, and reflections on the fate of humanity.
Published in 1826, in the aftermath of the deaths of Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron, The Last Man narrates the future extinction of humanity caused by a global pandemic. Long considered a roman à clef, the novel conceals behind its characters the most intimate figures in Mary Shelley’s life, transforming fiction into a space for mourning, remembrance, and emotional reconstruction.
On 14 May 1824, the author wrote in her diary: ‘The last man!’, immediately adding: ‘Yes, I may well describe that solitary being’s feelings, feeling myself as the last relic of a beloved race, my companions, extinct before me.’ From this deeply personal experience emerged a work in which writing becomes not only confession and memory, but also an attempt to fill the silence left by loss through the power of words.
The exhibition brings together autograph letters, first editions, paintings, and contemporary artworks, offering visitors an immersive journey through biography and dystopian imagination. The objects on display are not merely relics connected to Mary Shelley’s life, but fragments through which both her individual story and our possible collective future may be reconstructed.
Beyond its apocalyptic scenario, The Last Man now stands as an extraordinary modern prophecy. In the novel, humanity’s gradual annihilation reflects the author’s perception of a world poised on the edge of collapse, shaped by anthropocentric and imperialistic hierarchies ultimately destined to turn against humankind itself. Two centuries after its publication, the themes explored by Mary Shelley — pandemic, global crisis, isolation, and the fragility of civilisation — resonate with striking force today.
Guest curated by Elisabetta Marino, Professor of English Literature at the University of Rome 2 Tor Vergata, the exhibition is the first to be hosted in a new space within the museum, marking the beginning of a new season dedicated to the dialogue between literature, art, and contemporary culture.
Through poetic and visual interpretations, the exhibition invites visitors to rediscover one of the most radical and forward-looking works of nineteenth-century European literature, reaffirming Mary Shelley not only as the author of Frankenstein, but also as one of the most profound and relevant voices of modernity.
https://bit.ly/4azXOt3
20 May 2026 - 21 November 2026
Two hundred years after the publication of The Last Man, Mary Shelley’s visionary novel returns to the spotlight in a new exhibition exploring the extraordinary contemporary relevance of the work, intertwining literature, personal memory, and reflections on the fate of humanity.
Published in 1826, in the aftermath of the deaths of Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron, The Last Man narrates the future extinction of humanity caused by a global pandemic. Long considered a roman à clef, the novel conceals behind its characters the most intimate figures in Mary Shelley’s life, transforming fiction into a space for mourning, remembrance, and emotional reconstruction.
On 14 May 1824, the author wrote in her diary: ‘The last man!’, immediately adding: ‘Yes, I may well describe that solitary being’s feelings, feeling myself as the last relic of a beloved race, my companions, extinct before me.’ From this deeply personal experience emerged a work in which writing becomes not only confession and memory, but also an attempt to fill the silence left by loss through the power of words.
The exhibition brings together autograph letters, first editions, paintings, and contemporary artworks, offering visitors an immersive journey through biography and dystopian imagination. The objects on display are not merely relics connected to Mary Shelley’s life, but fragments through which both her individual story and our possible collective future may be reconstructed.
Beyond its apocalyptic scenario, The Last Man now stands as an extraordinary modern prophecy. In the novel, humanity’s gradual annihilation reflects the author’s perception of a world poised on the edge of collapse, shaped by anthropocentric and imperialistic hierarchies ultimately destined to turn against humankind itself. Two centuries after its publication, the themes explored by Mary Shelley — pandemic, global crisis, isolation, and the fragility of civilisation — resonate with striking force today.
Guest curated by Elisabetta Marino, Professor of English Literature at the University of Rome 2 Tor Vergata, the exhibition is the first to be hosted in a new space within the museum, marking the beginning of a new season dedicated to the dialogue between literature, art, and contemporary culture.
Through poetic and visual interpretations, the exhibition invites visitors to rediscover one of the most radical and forward-looking works of nineteenth-century European literature, reaffirming Mary Shelley not only as the author of Frankenstein, but also as one of the most profound and relevant voices of modernity.
https://bit.ly/4azXOt3
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Where is it happening?
Piazza di Spagna, 26, 00187 Rome, Italy, Piazza di Spagna, 26, 00187 Roma RM, Italia, Rome, Italy
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherKeats-Shelley Memorial House
