The
Octave of Claudius by Barry Pain
This book, originally published in 1897, tells the
story of Claudius Sandell, a down-and-out gentleman
who makes a deal with an eccentric scientist -- in return for eight days of unlimited
money to enjoy himself with, he binds himself for
life to be the scientist's slave -- or worse. Things become more complicated
for him when he meets a girl, and would like to go back on his bargain. To
quote George Orwell in his essay Good Bad
Books: "A cut above most of these [popular writers of the 1890s] was Barry Pain. Some of Pain's humorous writings
are, I suppose, still in print, but to anyone who comes across it I recommend
what must now be a very rare book–THE OCTAVE OF CLAUDIUS, a brilliant exercise
in the macabre."