Point of View

With the exception of a very small portion of the novel in Chapter 5, this novel is told from the first person point of view of Lord Doyle. The small section in Chapter 5 describes the mechanical workings of the particular game that Doyle played. It seems this part of the novel is included to give a more distant look at the game of baccarat and describe it from a mechanical point of view.

As this is a novel intended to tell the story of the ruin of one man who becomes addicted to gambling, the first person point of view is ideal. It is through the first hand look into Doyle’s thoughts, mindsets and emotions as struggles first with the ups and downs of gambling, then with his burden of constant winning that the reader is able to understand what a mental roller coaster he...