# The Purple Cloud by M.P.Shiel (1901)



## AE35Unit (Sep 5, 2010)

This is a 'last man alive' story by English author Matthew Phipps Shiel (1865 -1947) but is also a story of paranoia and what changes come over a person when faced with the reality of loneliness.
(This is a 235 page e-book, downloaded from Project Gutenberg The Purple Cloud by M. P. Shiel - Project Gutenberg )

After earning a place aboard an expedition to reach the north pole, Adam  Jeffson becomes isolated when one by one his team mates die, not from  the cold but from some strange purple-hued vapour, notable for its smell  of peach blossoms. As our explorer makes his way alone across the  frozen wastes he encounters many ships, each one drifting aimlessly with  dead crew-he eventually realises he is all alone!
He takes his ship, the _Boreal_, further and further south  encountering further devastation eventually reaching England and his own  home, now empty and cold. The bodies, both human and animal, he  encounters are notable for being strangely preserved-(tied to the the  unusual smell perhaps?)-there is no decay, no disease, just  inanimateness all around!
With various methods Jeffson makes his way around the world, his manner and attire changing  as he goes. 

I found the writing quite accessible for such an early book -some of the  usage was a bit odd compared to modern English and I had to make use of  the dictionary on my phone a few times but on the whole it was easily  digestible,somewhat reminding me of Jack London, and I quite enjoyed it


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## Ursa major (Sep 5, 2010)

I note that the book is still in copyright in the UK, and will be until 18th Febrary 2017. 


(I think it _may_ be out of copyright in the US using their 90-years-since-publication rule.)


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## AE35Unit (Sep 5, 2010)

Ursa major said:


> I note that the book is still in copyright in the UK, and will be until 18th Febrary 2017.


Where did you get the info from?


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## Ursa major (Sep 5, 2010)

Wiki: the author, Matthew Phipps Shiel died, on the the 17th of February 1947. (I chose the 18th to be on the safe side.)

I added the required 70 years to that date.


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## AE35Unit (Sep 5, 2010)

Ursa major said:


> Wiki: the author, Matthew Phipps Shiel died, on the the 17th of February 1947. (I chose the 18th to be on the safe side.)
> 
> I added the required 70 years to that date.



Ah of course, over here the copyright ceases after 70 years from the author's demise! How do they work it in the states, as the copyright has crased over here.


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## blacknorth (Sep 8, 2010)

I read this a few years ago and enjoyed it. It's certainly an essential part of any self-respecting Apoca-Lit book collection. The desolate England scenes are especially nice, though rather gruesome - it flags a bit while he travels though.


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