The Purple Cloud

infobox Book |
name = The Purple Cloud
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Title illustration by J. J. Cameron
author = M. P. Shiel
illustrator = J. J. Cameron
cover_artist =
country = UK
language = English
series =
genre = science fiction
publisher = Chatto and Windus and others
pub_date = 1901
english_pub_date =
media_type = Print (hardback and paperback)
pages = 463 pp.
isbn =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

The Purple Cloud is a "last man" novel by the British writer M. P. Shiel published in 1901.

Plot

The story, a recording of a medium's meditation over the future writing of the text, details the narrator's (Adam Jefferson's) expedition to the North Pole during the 20th century on board "The Boreal". His fiancée, the Countess Clodagh poisons her own cousin to secure a place on the ship for Adam, for the expedition was one of the best planned, seeing as a dying millionaire, who passed away some years previous, had ordered in his will that he will pay 175 000 000 dollars to the first person standing on the Pole.

Before Jefferson leaves, he hears a sermon of a Scottish priest named Mackay, speaking against Polar research, calling the failure of all previous expeditions the will of God, prophesizing some terrible fate.

The narrator at the same time remembers his meeting with a man who claimed that the universe is a place of strife between vague "powers", "The White" and "The Black", for dominance.

Throughout the events of the polar journey, the narrator gradually discovers that his course has been, for many years, guided by these forces up to the point of him reaching the pole first: a huge, clear, lake of spinning water with an island laid with inscriptions.

Upon seeing this, Jefferson falls faint. When he returns to his camp he, along with his dogs, feels sick after having smelled a peculiar peach-like odour. He also discerns a moving purple cloud, spreading in the far heavens.

During the progress of his journey, he discovers dead polar bears and walruses and foxes, without the slightest injury and gradually learns of the death of his entire crew onboard "The Boreal".

The ship being fairly easy to operate, he sets out. First towards northern islands, but upon seeing all dead of various races from around the world there (the result of an exodus, escaping the death-bringing cloud) and meeting ships crowded with corpses he comes to the dead continent, walking through London, searching for news of the cloud.

Later, he looks for any survivors in shut land mines, but finds all barricades broken through by mad crowds. Seemingly he finds none alive. He travels the country by locomotive, wherever possible, using cars for further progress.

Later, he goes to the house of Arthur Machen, whom he finds dead, having been writing a poem until the very end. There, he finds the notebook into which he writes his whole narrative.

The later parts of the book describe his descent into mad pompousness: adopting Turkish attire, declaring himself monarch and burning down cities (including Paris, Bordeaux, London and San Francisco) for pleasure. And he willing puts his life into a task, the construction of a huge and colossal golden palace on the isle of Imbros, which he means to dedicate as an altar to God and a palace to himself.

He spends seventeen years building the palace, having several times abandoned the work, until when its finished, when he recognises the vanity of it.

Later, while going through Constantinople, which he burns down, he stumbles upon a twenty-year-old, naked, woman who is without the slightest knowledge of anything in the world. She keeps on following him, however he shuns and abuses her, going as far as throwing her into a locked chamber with a bleeding leg, while himself going to sleep in the cushions in the other part of the house, and many times meditating on killing her.

Gradually,he accepts her, but forces her to wear a veil over her mouth. But her speed at learning astonishes him. So he teaches her to speak, read, cook, fish and dress.

The girl (who is unable to pronounce "r",instead saying "l") reveals that she had been living her whole previous life in a cellar below the royal palace of Turkey, and that she knew nothing of the world until she was freed when Adam Jefferson burned down Constantinople. She becomes absorbed in the Bible and declares the humans who sought for riches as "spoiled".

Adam struggles mightily against his growing affection towards the girl, wishing to end the human race.

At the very end, when he leaves of to England, he is telephoned by her about the re-appearance of the Purple Cloud over France. He rushes to her, embracing her as his wife and concludes his writing that he is okay with his role and that after three weeks have passed no purple cloud has appeared.

Trivia

* The story was praised by H.P.Lovecraft in his "Supernatural Horror in Literature" and Frank Belknap Long called it "the most unutterably terrible book ever written".

* Arthur Machen, who was featured in the book, was a close friend of M. P. Shiel. He attended his wedding.