"The Purple Cloud" by M. P. Shiel is an apocalyptic novel published in 1901. Adam Jeffson joins a polar expedition and discovers a mysterious purple cloud that brings death across the globe. As seemingly the last man alive, he descends into madness, burning cities and building a colossal palace to himself. Years later, he encounters a young woman who survived in a cellar, forcing him to confront the future of humanity itself. (This is an automatically generated summary.)