The idea of the Doppleganger has a grand tradition in literature. Before 70 proof presents its own take on the theme, we felt it would be a good idea to share with you, our valued readers, two of the form's finest examples.

"The Double" by Fyodor Dostoevsky: First published in 1846, "The Double" is the story of Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, a meager titular councillor whose life is complicated with the arrival of his very own Doppleganger. And who can forget their first Doppleganger? I couldn't walk for a week.

Hey, now would be a good time to pause and remind everyone exactly what a titular councillor is. Sadly, it's nowhere near as exciting as it sounds. In 1722, Tsar Peter the Great established the Table of Ranks to organize the Russian military, civil service, and the courts. Titular councillor was the ninth of fourteen civil ranks, meaning there were eight levels ahead of it. The goal was to advance through the ranks and achieve nobility, which was made hereditary upon reaching the fourth rank. The system lasted nearly two hundred years, coming to an end with the Russian Revolution of 1917. You're welcome.

Anyway, Golyadkin is obsessed with advancing his career. Unfortunately, he isn't very handsome or clever or charming. He's virtually friendless, making him inept at petty office politics. But Golyadkin has a plan. He intends to make a good impression at the birthday party of one of his superior's daughters, perhaps even woo the lass to expedite his advancement, but only succeeds in making a fool of himself. Embarrassed and humiliated, Golyadkin retreats into the wintry night, stopping near a bridge to ponder his fate. There he encounters a stranger who looks oddly familiar. Golyadkin follows the man and is surprised to discover the trail leads back to his very own flat. Golyadkin's servant meets the stranger at the door and lets him in without hesitation. When Golyadkin finally catches up to the stranger, they are standing face-to-face in Golyadkin's own room, each the mirror image of the other.

Golyadkin awakens the next morning convinced the previous night's events were merely a delusion, some sort of horrific nightmare. It's not until he arrives at work to discover his Doppleganger now employed at his office that our hero begins to believe the sinister reality of the situation. Incredibly, the strange man's name is also Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin. Except this new Golyadkin, referred to as Golyadkin Junior, doesn't share the same shortcomings of his namesake. No, Golyadkin Junior is charming, personable, and a master of office politics. It isn't long before he's moving up in the world, garnering all the attention and praise Golyadkin Senior so covets.

Dostoevsky is as equally masterful in telling the story, continually blurring the line between reality and fantasy. Does Golyadkin Junior truly exist or is he simply the product of Golyadkin Senior's descent into madness? All is revealed in a truly poignant conclusion.

This is a swell work of psychology. Dostoevsky explores the duality of the self, using Golyadkin Junior to embody the drive, ambition, and confident nature that the insecure Golyadkin Senior is unable to express.

Dostoevsky wrote "The Double" when he was 24, nearly five years before his life-altering arrest and imprisonment for being involved with "subversive socialists." It's clearly a product of his youth, lacking the concise, commanding prose of his later masterworks, but it's still an impressive feat of literature. Besides, Dostoevsky is our brother. Read all you can.

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"William Wilson" by Edgar Allan Poe: Much like his work with the detective genre, Poe was also ahead of the curve in tackling the Doppleganger, writing "William Wilson," his own variation on the theme, in 1839.

Unlike Dostoevsky's "The Double," which is written in the third person, Poe's main character narrates the story himself as a memoir, adopting the alias "William Wilson" to hide his true identity.

The narrator first meets his double during his childhood days at boarding school. The boy shows up one day as a new student, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the narrator, not to mention the same name and date of birth. However, the two do not share the same moral compass. The narrator openly admits being an unscrupulous man, completely devoid of discipline. He coasted through school and early adulthood on his good name and the wealth of his family, shunning hard work and earnestness in favor of ribald debauchery. Yet his double haunts him, continually turning up at the most inopportune times, tirelessly trying to thwart the narrator's devious endeavors.

Obviously, Poe employs the Doppleganger to represent the narrator's conscience. The two men, these two opposing forces of good and evil, collide in a fatal climax to the story, with the narrator emerging a changed man.

Poe's at his best here, mixing his usual spectacular prose with deep psychological symbolism. "William Wilson" deserves a place amongst its author's greatest works, easily on par with the likes of "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and the Dupin mysteries.

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So there you have it, two writers with two distinctly different takes on the same theme. Look for 70 proof's Doppleganger story to run sometime between the second and third Churchfield mysteries. We'd probably be able to post it sooner, but this creepy guy keeps hanging around the office. He just sits around all day watching classic TV shows and making sarcastic comments. It's so annoying. And he's really frail and sickly. Eat a sandwich.