Obsession

by Jules Clarétie, Brian M. Stableford (Translator)

Artist André Fortis is the victim of a strange curse that suddenly and unexpectedly turns him into an entirely different man, with his own life, artistic styles and preoccupations, thus splitting his existence into two separate lives -- his and the Other's. Can he be cured by the mysterious Dr. Klipper who claims to have invented devices that can read the human brain through the skull like an open book? Jules Clarétie's Obsession (1908) deals with the psychological anomaly that would nowadays be called multiple personality syndrome in the tradition of the classic Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886). Although it remains an "evil twin" story, its representation of the personality of the inconvenient "double" is, however, unusual and striking. The novel also portrays the obsessive quality of scientific research, thus adding to the rich tradition of literary "mad scientists."

281 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1908

About the author

Jules Arsène Arnaud Claretie (3 December 1840 – 23 December 1913) was a French literary figure and director of the Théâtre Français.

He was born at Limoges. After studying at the lycée Bonaparte in Paris, he became a journalist, achieving great success as dramatic critic to Le Figaro and to the Opinion nationale. He was a newspaper correspondent during the Franco-Prussian War, and during the Paris Commune acted as staff-officer in the National Guard. In 1885 he became director of the Théâtre Français, and from that time devoted his time chiefly to its administration until his death. During the battle for Octave Mirbeau's comedy Les affaires sont les affaires (Business is business), the Comité de Lecture is abolished, in October 1901, and Jules Claretie becomes the only responsible for choosing the modern plays to be performed.

He was elected a member of the Académie française in 1888, and took his seat in February 1889, being received by Ernest Renan.