The Man with the Black Feather

"The Man with the Black Feather" by Gaston Leroux is a story that takes place in the early 1900's. The events start when M. Theophrastus Longuet, a shy and average maker of rubber stamps, gets a special sandalwood box from a dead friend's belongings. Hidden inside is a stack of old papers that start an amazing adventure, causing him to question who he really is and learn about a past life tied to the exciting past of Paris. Early in the story, Theophrastus, his wife Marceline, and their friend Adolphe go to the Conciergerie, a well-known old prison. While there, Theophrastus feels a strange connection to long ago, saying things that sound strange but also familiar. After a weird event where a secret paper is uncovered in the dark basement of the prison, Theophrastus finds himself mixed up in the life of a man from the 1700s, dealing with the idea of being reborn and solving the mystery of hidden riches. This sparks an exciting search into his former self and a look at interesting old secrets that connect to his present.

Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux was a French journalist and author of detective fiction.