The Man Who Lost Himself

"The Man Who Lost Himself" by H. De Vere Stacpoole is a story set in the early 1900s about Victor Jones, a down-on-his-luck young man in London facing financial ruin after a major business deal falls apart. While wrestling with feelings of failure and a shaky sense of self, Victor meets Rochester, a mysterious man who is his exact double, setting off a chain of errors and escapades that force both men to rethink who they are. The book opens with Victor in despair, mulling over his life in a hotel, when his doppelganger appears, pulling him into a confusing world. Following a night of drinking and mistaken identities, Victor finds himself caught up in Rochester's life, struggling with his sense of identity. This sets up a plot filled with mistaken identity, twists, humor, and questions the reader's percerption.