James Hogg was a Scottish poet and novelist from the early 19th century. Hogg was a poor shepherd as a boy. His employer lent him books and through hard work he became self-educated. Published in 1924 this work is considered a Gothic novel, a psychological study of an unreliable narrator and an examination of totalitarian thought. The novel is filled with angels, devils, and demonic possession. This is the story of a young man who encounters a shape shifting devil and the adventures that follow. Hogg explores the duality of good and evil which led critics to wonder if this work was the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.