Horror Pain, Barry: The Octave of Claudius. v1. 13 Dec 2022

[GrannyGrump]

Claudius Sandell, a young unpublished novelist, is rendered penniless and homeless when his father disowns him. The mysterious surgeon Dr. Lamb gives Claudius £8,000 to spend as he sees fit, and an octave (eight days) in which to spend it…on condition that Dr. Lamb now “owns” him, and that Claudius must afterward submit to an experiment that will “benefit mankind.” He soon learns that this mysterious experiment will result in his death.

… Decades after its publication, The Octave of Claudius was praised by George Orwell as “a brilliant exercise in the macabre.”

(—F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre,
Fantasy & Science Fiction,
www.sfsite.com)

(There are also many bits of sly, dry humor to be found here. —grannyG)

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Barry Eric Odell Pain (28 Sep. 1864 – 05 May 1928) was an English journalist, poet, humorist and writer. During his lifetime, he was perhaps best known as a writer of parody and lightly humorous stories, but now is also noted for his tales touched with fantasy, horror, and the supernatural. He also wrote stories of mystery and suspense. His humor has been characterized by some modern critics as “a surreal forerunner to Monty Python.”

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The Octave of Claudius was first published in 1897. This book is in the public domain where copyright is “Life+90” or less, and in the USA.
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