Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

By Robert Louis Stevenson

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Stark, skillfully woven, this fascinating novel explores the curious turnings of human character through the strange case of Dr. Jekyll, a kindly scientist who by night takes on his stunted evil self, Mr. Hyde. Anticipating modern psychology, Jekyll and Hyde is a brilliantly original study of man’s dual nature—as well as an immortal tale of suspense and terror. Published in 1886, Jekyll and Hyde was an instant success and brought Stevenson his first taste of fame. Though sometimes dismissed as a mere mystery story, the book has evoked much literary admirations. Vladimir Nabokov likened it to Madame Bovary and Dead Souls as “a fable that lies nearer to poetry than to ordinary prose fiction.”

Enriched Classics enhance your engagement by introducing and explaining the historical and cultural significance of the work, the author’s personal history, and what impact this book had on subsequent scholarship. Each book includes discussion questions that help clarify and reinforce major themes and reading recommendations for further research.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Release date: Jul 21, 2014
• ISBN: 9781451685664

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a Scottish novelist, travel writer, poet, and children’s author. Plagued by poor health his entire life, he was nevertheless an amazingly prolific writer, and created some of the most influential and entertaining fiction of the nineteenth century, including Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Robert Louis Stevenson

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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson, Simon & Schuster

To

Katharine de Mattos

It’s ill to loose the bands that God decreed to bind;

Still will we be the children of the heather and the wind;

Far away from home, O it’s still for you and me

That the broom is blowing bonnie in the north countrie.

INTRODUCTION

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde:

A LITERARY SHILLING SHOCKER

Since its publication in 1886, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has remained continuously in print and has been translated over eighty times and into more than thirty languages. Always popular with ordinary readers, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has also been admired by well-known writers as diverse as Henry James, Vladimir Nabokov, Joyce Carol Oates, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Jorge Luis Borges, and Italo Calvino. Many of these writers have noted that the source of the book’s enduring appeal is a fast-paced plot combined with a masterful style. Robert Louis Stevenson was an erudite writer who had read voraciously since boyhood, but he wore his education lightly and was determined to write novels that would engage and entertain a wide audience. He dubbed Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde a shilling shocker, placing it alongside the many cheaply printed horror stories of the day known in England as penny dreadfuls. But Stevenson’s shocker has come to take its place alongside some of the most artistic of literary works.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde propels the reader rapidly through an increasingly horrifying and fantastic tale to an ending that leaves the reader to contemplate the story’s moral ambiguities. The novel focuses on the two-sided quality of human nature and society, exploring the tensions between good and evil, public and private, sensual and spiritual, self-control and freedom. It also offers a glimpse into the mores of Victorian society and its anxieties regarding the pitfalls of technological progress and social hypocrisy.

The novel’s spare urgency may be partly attributable to the speed with which it was written. As reported in his 1888 essay A Chapter on Dreams, the book’s main events came to Stevenson in a dream. Employing these events to create his work on man’s double being, Stevenson wrote the first draft of the novel in three days. Though he burned that draft at his wife’s suggestion, he wrote the final version in another three-day heat.

The book’s main conceit—the title character’s transformation from the respectable Dr. Jekyll to the unfettered Mr. Hyde—has endured as a metaphor for a modern psychological condition. The book has been adapted into numerous children’s, stage, and film versions, including a 1931 classic starring Frederic March and humorous adaptations starring Abbott and Costello and Jerry Lewis. Prominent writers such as Susan Sontag have written versions of the tale, and Stevenson’s brilliant story has popped up in popular cartoons including The Mighty Mouse Playhouse and The Bugs Bunny Show.

A blend of many genres including Gothic horror, science fiction, and romance, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde remains a riveting novel that leaves readers with a sense of unease as they recognize parts of themselves in both Jekyll and Hyde.

The Life and Work of Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850, in Edinburgh, Scotland. The only child of Thomas Stevenson, a successful civil engineer, and Margaret Isabella Balfour, Stevenson suffered from debilitating illnesses throughout his life. Although his frail health made schooling difficult, he was an avid reader. At seventeen he entered Edinburgh University to study lighthouse engineering, but soon made a compromise with his father and switched to law.

As a university student, Stevenson rebelled against his strict, Calvinist upbringing and played the bohemian. He began experimenting with writing styles and published his first work, The Pentland Rising. In 1873, he met Sidney Colvin, an English art scholar, who would become his mentor and friend, and Fanny Sitwell, his unrequited love and later friend. The same year, Stevenson traveled to the French Riviera in order to recover from severe respiratory illness, probably tuberculosis. While traveling to convalesce, Stevenson devoted himself to writing. His two travel books, An Inland Voyage (1878) and Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (1879), and many essays of this period established his reputation as a writer.

In 1876, Stevenson met and fell in love with Fanny Osbourne, an American woman in the midst of a divorce from her husband. To the dismay of his parents, Stevenson traveled to California to join her in 1879. Sick and poor, Stevenson nearly died from ill health, but rallied and married Osbourne in 1880. With encouragement from his father, Stevenson took his new bride and her son to Scotland to reconnect with his family.

Seeking health, the Stevensons traveled to Davos, Switzerland, the Scottish Highlands, and the south of France during the early 1880s. Stevenson began writing Treasure Island with his stepson in 1881 and published his first collection of essays, Virginibus Puerisque, that year. From 1884 to 1887, the family lived in Bournemouth, England, where Stevenson met and befriended the American novelist Henry James. While at Bournemouth, he also wrote Kidnapped, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Markheim. He published Prince Otto and A Child’s Garden of Verses in 1885. The publication of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1886 propelled him to popular and literary fame. Finding the climate in Bournemouth bad for his health, Stevenson, along with his wife, stepson, and mother, went to the Adirondacks in upstate New York in 1887. Saranac Lake, in the Adirondacks, was the site of a famous tubercular sanitorium.

In 1888, the family sailed through the South Seas, visiting the Marquesas Islands, Fakarava Atoll, Tahiti, Honolulu, the Gilbert Islands, and finally Samoa. His writings on these travels include In the South Seas (1896) and A Footnote to History (1892). After a trip to Sydney, Australia, in 1890, Stevenson returned to Samoa and set up residence at a house called Vailima, where he spent the rest of his life. At Vailima he wrote Island Nights’ Entertainments (1893) and David Balfour (1893), the sequel to Kidnapped, as well as The Ebb-Tide (1894) (originated by Lloyd Osbourne). He also began his unfinished masterpiece, Weir of Hermiston, which was published posthumously in 1896. Stevenson died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1894 and was buried, according to his wishes, on Mt. Vaea in Samoa.

In addition to writing novels, Stevenson wrote poems, essays, and copious letters. Popular and successful during his time, Stevenson’s literary reputation suffered a decline soon after his death. However, by the 1950s critics again received Stevenson’s works warmly, recognizing his novels as fast-paced and gripping stories with original and ambiguous moral themes.

Historical and Literary Context of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The Victorian Era

Robert Louis Stevenson lived in the shadow of one of the most important figures of British history: Queen Victoria. The indomitable monarch had been ruling for thirteen years when he was born, and she outlived the sickly writer by seven years. During Victoria’s reign, England underwent a startling and dramatic transformation from an influential agricultural society with a few overseas territories to an international, industrial superpower with control over vast swaths of land on almost every continent. By the end of the nineteenth century, it was a common, and accurate, English boast that the sun never sets on the British Empire.

At the time of the publication of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, England had become an industrialized nation. Technological innovations had shifted the basis of England’s economy from agriculture to industry between 1750 and 1850. The development of steam power and a boom in the cotton textiles industry caused a population shift from rural to urban areas. New steam-powered railroads and ships broadened the market for England’s output. Laborers were more at the mercy of their employers than ever before, and working conditions in factories, mines, and mills were often brutal. Children and adults alike commonly worked as much as sixteen hours a day, six days a week, in dangerous conditions for very small wages. Throughout the nineteenth century, most of the Western world struggled to adjust to the impact of industrialization.

Enormous Change: Darwin, Marx, Freud

The Victorian age gave rise to scientific, social, and psychological theories that shook the foundations of accepted knowledge. The many breakthroughs in scientific, psychological, and social theory created doubt about the reliability of truth and humankind’s role in the universe as it had been known. Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859) proposed a theory of evolution that challenged prevailing ideas of religious and social order. The full impact of Origin of Species took several decades to emerge, and we still feel it today. Karl Marx’s radical economic theories outlining the perpetual class struggle between property-owning oppressors and exploited workers spurred the growth of socialism, called for an overthrow of the capitalist system, and helped give rise to a labor movement. Sigmund Freud, the founder of modern psychology and psychoanalysis, changed the way people thought of themselves by proposing that normality and madness lie on a continuum and are not utterly opposed. Though Freud’s theories were still being formulated at the time Stevenson was writing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the novel anticipated many of the ideas that would become crucial to Freud’s theories.

Stevenson’s Influences

Stevenson was an avid reader. As a young man, he read Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray, as well as the romantic works of Sir Walter Scott and the thrilling horror stories of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was influenced by these and other literary predecessors, especially Mary Shelley’s Gothic novel Frankenstein (1818), in which a doctor’s desires to create another using only technology results in disaster. The theme of the double, so central to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, mates many previous appearances in romantic and post-romantic literature, but is especially prominent in James Hogg’s The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824). Hogg also makes use of multiple documents (such as letters and newspaper stories alongside of the traditional narrative) and viewpoints to give his novel a realistic feel. Shelley had used this technique in Frankenstein, and later, at the turn of the century, Bram Stoker used it in his 1897 horror classic, Dracula.

CHRONOLOGY

Reviews for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

[bettesbooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was expecting more. Why? Because everyone knows the tale, I just assumed the writing would be better.

[ffortuna_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Small but incredibly effective. Like, I know Jekyll and Hyde are the same person. Everyone knows that. I still felt actually horrified at the reveal of that fact, because Stevenson did such a good job drawing the main characters and the people surrounding them. Like The Picture of Dorian Gray, (Wilde was an admirer of the book), it explores inner and outer natures by dividing them, showing what people might do if it would never be found out and never physically affect them, and it's all the more compelling because their flaws start out so small and relatable. Jekyll didn't suffer from a deep dark secret at first, he just didn't want anyone to know about his small flaws. Excellent for the Halloween season, and especially good read in company with Dorian Gray, because both are so complete, so layered, and so subtle where it counts.

[msaucier818 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another classic that I surprisingly enjoyed. This story is well known to anyone who has followed anything to do with pop-culture, but as is often the case, the original was not all that similar to the many different adaptations. The story is basically about Dr. Jeckyll and his journey into becoming two people. Mr. Hyde is obviously his evil side, and the story simply goes through how it came to be and the torments of the Dr. in dealing with the transition. A good story that looks into the human mind and its through process. It does not evolve into any comic book type of story and Mr. Hyde is not a tragic character.

This was a super-quick read and I would recommend it to any fans of literature.

[greymowser · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I remember reading this in school, vaguely. I found the book to be a little annoying trying to figure out the writer's meanings to old English words. Were the first time I read it, it was just a horror story, this time I realize there were psychological and possible homosexual connotations. A lot of hidden meanings in the writing. Way different read from my first dip into the pages.

[pennsylady · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very good audio Oct reread ...."split personality"....."dissociative identity disorder" ...psychological thriller

[laphenix · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Curious, but quite unexceptional in all but concept. Much of the first half is merely discussion and speculation, and the second, all told through a document, and thus, there seems only a mere instant of action.

[gregorio_roth · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A short Novella that digs into the Psychology of the angelic man, made before the fall; and the dirty creatures, that lies in all humans. The psychology developed and explained here is great. If you are looking for a long read, this will not suffice.

[Patrick Hannigan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's interesting once you get past the first half of the book, but I'm really used to multimedia forms of entertainment. The themes are interesting to think about as well.

[dste_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A strange, deformed man haunts the streets, trampling over fallen children and seemingly wresting money from the good Dr. Jekyll to escape the consequences of his misdeeds. Jekyll has even gone so far as to make this mysterious Mr. Hyde the sole benefactor of his will, against all advice from Mr. Utterson, his lawyer. Utterson suspects blackmail, and he's determined not to rest until he's helped his dear friend and client escape with his life. For surely, he thinks, Hyde must be tempted to murder Jekyll in order to usurp him. Utterson doesn't know how right he is, though not at all in the way that he suspects.The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a classic horror novel, and one that has been referenced so often in modern culture that I knew its biggest secret going in. For me, the surprises and the appeal were in discovering the way in which the story was told. Much of the plot involves watching Mr. Utterson and others slowly uncovering the mystery, and, for me, this resulted in a very interesting dramatic irony. I knew exactly what the characters were missing, but I didn't know all the twists and turns of the plot, how the characters would react to them, or how the story would reach its end. For me, this was enough to maintain interest, and I think other readers would have a similar experience if they have only a surface-level knowledge of the plot.This is a short book, certainly a quick read, and I found it to be a good example of British literature of the nineteenth century. Characters’ physical descriptions are meant to signify aspects of their personalities, houses and the weather are likewise described with obvious symbolism, the omniscient narrator tells you what the characters are like, and the characters have over-the-top reactions whenever anything remotely horrifying happens. Because of this, combined with how easy it is to read, I think it would make a great introductory book for anyone looking to get into British classics from the same time period without immediately jumping in the deep end.I also found it interesting as a window into the past, seeing how people lived and spoke and how they told their stories. I would recommend it if you have a similar interest, or if, somehow, you actually don't know the secret behind this particular mystery. If that's the case, I recommend you go out and read it right now. You're sure to have an experience worth talking about.

[spoko_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

So I am realizing how much I enjoy these classic gothic horror/suspense novels. That said, this particular one is a bit lacking. It’s partly the pacing, and partly the rather blunt ways that Stevenson obscures the twist. As a reader, you’re not given those tantalizing glimpses that make these stories so compelling. At least, not enough of them, and they’re not as well executed as they could be. You never feel like you’re on the verge of being drawn into Jekyll’s (or Hyde’s!) point of view, until the very last chapter. So what you’re left with is a pretty opaque mystery with a lengthy, philosophical reveal that doesn’t really feel like it was earned.

[readingover50 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I am watching the new season of Penny Dreadful and they are featuring Dr. Jekyll this year. I realized I have never read this book, so I decided to pick it up in preparation for the show.

The writing feels very dense, and the pacing is slow. The reader slowly gets a feeling of dread, rather than outright scares. This is common with many of the horror stories of the period that I have read.

The story is interesting, with much musing on the nature of good and evil. It was a bit slower paced than I like, but this is a short book and easy to read in a day.

[joe73-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great story. Should have been a bit longer. But all things considered I can really respect the writer for keeping it short. In many cases writers from this period tend to go on and on. If Stoker would have penned this it would have never ended and rolled over into the realm of politics. The story was very effective in showing the division between the personalities. This was a relief from Prince Otto which I read in the same day.

[sometimeunderwater · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Bet this was a blitz before everyone and their kid knew the secret twist. A fine gothic novella, proceeding on railroad towards the ending you already knew was coming.

[williemeikle-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's not called a classic without good reason. It's an almost perfectly plotted short novel, all the parts complementing each other, all serving to build tension and anticipation. The good doctor is suitably tragic, Hyde is suitably degenerate and, despite having seen the multitude of adaptations over the years, it still feels remarkably fresh and modern. All of Stevenson's stylistic flourishes are on show, as well as his rarely bettered storytelling ability. I'd give it six stars if I could.

[cyderry · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Each year I try to read a few CLASSICS just so that I can mark them off my list. I usually don't care for the stories or writing and have a hard time making it through the book, however, this one surprised me. The story was different than what I had imagined.

Dr. Jekyll is the good guy and he has worked on a formula which will separate his baser nature from his kind and good attributes. Unfortunately, he loses control of Mr. Hyde (the bad guy) and must surrender his life to protect others.

[siok-76276 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Short but powerful story. Everyone has their darker side, Dr. Jekyll chose to indulge it by turning himself into another person, ultimately to his detriment. He was unable to withdraw himself from his evil twin even when he didn't take the drug that transforms him. This is a sobering reminder of what may happen if we do not control our own darker side.

[lydia1879 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this using my Serial reader app and I was really happy with it!

I knew it was a classic, and, much like classics, it was a book that I'd always meant to read, or intended to read but never actually read.

I loved the atmosphere that Stevenson created. His somehow empty, foggy, cacophonous London was brought to life. I didn't find the language too hard or difficult to follow at all, which surprised me. I liked the tension for the majority of the novel -- Stevenson crafted tension through letters, confessionals and those late-night walks around London where all sorts of horrors happen.

I didn't care too much for the characters, but I definitely admired the author's writing, his language and how accessible the book is after all this time.

Even though I knew the ending, I still found it readable and hope you do too. c:

[scottcholstad · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic later surpassed by many but at the time, very original and quite good.

[samantha100_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Elegantly told and suspenseful, this classic story certainly stands the test of time. I read the Keynotes Classics edition. I especially appreciated the introductory key written by Michelle M. White. She provides interesting information about the author and offers valuable suggestions about what to look for in the story. As a result, I believe I got much more from this reading than I did when I first read it. Highly recommended.

[shahnareads · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

One of those 'classics' on everyones to be read lists.
It's alright.

[flying_monkeys_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rating: 5 of 5

What can be said about a classic such as The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? A story so well-known, one that has permeated our culture so completely (perhaps rivaled only by Frankenstein and Dracula), most everyone knows the gist without ever having read the novella or watched a film adaption. I daresay, little, if anything new, or at the very least, "fresh." Thus I will stick to my personal reaction in this review.

From a writer's perspective, I applaud (and appreciate) the structure and narrative style. Stevenson built upon (and relied on) the reader's natural curiosity and desire to solve the mystery of Mr. Hyde, to know what was "really" happening, which probably made this quite the sensational page-turner during its initial publication in 1886. I read the story much slower than I do with most modern fiction; there's much to savor and digest for those patient enough to nibble. One of the story's less subtle themes - repression of one's curiosity and not asking questions that "shouldn't" be asked - was ingenious, wasn't it? Given the tools Stevenson utilized to engage readers. OH! And the descriptions throughout the story often knocked me for a loop they were so ... distinct; Stevenson knew exactly what images he wanted to conjure up in readers' minds.

I will definitely give this one a re-read whenever I want a refresher in (1) allegory and (2) the characterization and theme of duality and hypocrisy.

Disclaimer: If you are bored or confused by complex sentences, extended paragraphs, and/or Victorian Era prose, then The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde probably won't float your boat.

[sturlington_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Along with FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA, this short novel makes up the holy triumvirate of early horror. It asks the question: What is the nature of man's soul? The answer is that we all have a dark side, a side without a conscience, that lives only for its own pleasure without regard for anyone else. This is the Mr. Hyde that emerges when Jekyll drinks his magic potion, and he repulses everyone he meets. As Jekyll discovers, if we give free reign to the Hyde imprisoned within us, he grows stronger and asserts himself more and more, until he threatens to take over entirely.

Despite being afflicted by the usual Victorian floridness of language (some skimming required), DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE is a highly readable, if rather circuitous, story. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the evolution of the horror genre.

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

“... that man is not truly one, but truly two.”

The idea that we all have a dark side? Well, certainly the main character of this story does! Dr. Henry Jekyll meets/creates/releases Edward Hyde, “The evil side of my nature,...”, and is not the same for it! It's a quick read, well except for the last chapter that draaaaags on, and an important story in the history of "horror" literature, so I'm glad I read it! Not scary by today's standards, but still a freaky idea and one that has been repeated often! I wonder which of my two halves would be the dominant one? Or do I have more than two? Hmm...

[john257hopper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a re-read of this classic 19th century novella which has been the inspiration behind so many spin-offs since. It is a taut and atmospheric piece of writing, and the conclusion that Jekyll and Hyde are one and the same, two sides of the same being, only becomes evident near the end - it is hard for us to understand how this would have shocked and thrilled the reader in 1886, so familiar has the Jekyll and Hyde motif become.

[starla_aurora · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

interesting... not what I remember from 15 yrs ago. that's what happens with memory and Hollywood influence.

[borrows0n0wants · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I love the story. However, since nearly 98% of the population is familiar with this story, it is kind of a drag to read this since you know how everything unfolds. I also didn't find the way in which the story was told very captivating. It is such a thin book, and I had a terrible time getting through it. I actually skipped parts in this book because they were so dreadfully boring.

[angelajmaher · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is one of those classic stories it would be almost impossible to not be aware of on some level. The basic concept of the book is deeply ingrained in pop culture, but a lot of people probably haven't read the origin of what has become a legend of sorts.
Reading the classics isn't always easy; the writing style being of a previous era. But it gives a new and interesting perspective to read the original texts that have spawned so many echoes through to the modern day.
This book is a good place to start if you're wanting to start dipping into the classics. The older style might take some getting used to, but it's short. It would be easy enough to read the whole thing in a single quiet afternoon, but if read in smaller doses, still wouldn't take a terribly long time to get through.
As with other classic works I've read, such as Frankenstein, the nuances and details were not quite what I expected. It has a much deeper reflection on human nature, for one.
This is well worth reading, if only to see how the tale was originally portrayed.

[geoffhabiger · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I honestly don't remember if I ever read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when I was younger. Of course, I knew the tale (in passing), though what I "knew" was always tinted through the lens of pop culture references to the character. Stevenson's tale, and his description of Mr. Hyde, is very different from many of the more "monstrous" characterizations of the character, and honestly I think that these retellings do an injustice to Stevenson's work. Hyde is a monster for sure, an purely evil man, but having him be a shriveled, gnarled man who can illicit fear and revulsion by his mere presence, but who can speak as a gentleman is a much more compelling take than as a rampaging hulk. (I'm glaring at you, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.)

I picked up this copy through my library to listen on my daily commute. The story was very good, and is befitting its place as a classic of story-telling. Robert Louis Stevenson does a great job of setting the scenes and letting the reader explore the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and his alter ego. The method that Stevenson uses is one that probably wouldn't work in today's market - with most of the story told through the exposition of letters and confessions that are read, as opposed to the readers experiencing the shock of "seeing" the strange transformation from Utterson's perspective.

My enjoyment of this particular telling of the story was a bit diminished by the pronunciation of the title's namesake - Dr. Henry Jekyll. I am an American, and I have always heard the name pronounced as "Jeh-kill". The narrator, the amazingly talented Sir Ian Holm, pronounced it as "Jee-kil" - a long "E" sound, rather than the soft "E" I am familiar with. Everything else about Holm's reading was wonderful, and I really enjoyed it, but every time he said Dr. Jekyll's name I would go "who? oh, he means the main character".

Overall I liked the book and I am glad that I have read it. If you have never read the original story, and like me are only aware of the tale through second and third-hand pop culture references, then I highly recommend you pick it up.

[margaretfield · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

might be the best crafted short story I've ever read

[hopeevey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Like most folks, I knew the broad outline of this story, but hadn't actually read it. I'm very glad I did. It's both simpler, and more complex, than a tale of one man split between his higher and his baser selves.

The telling is a combination of memior, and epistilary. Dr. Jeckyll's solicitor tells the story, including reading out some documents, including Dr. Jeckyll's final confession. Through the narrative, we meet a group of wholely believeable characters, through a beautifully structured tale. The writing is lovely and engaging. And the more I think about the plot, the more impressed I become. Generally, I can find a hole or two, but I don't mind in a well-told tale, or a story about really good characters. In this case, I can't find any. Nothing happens purely out of narrative imperative. Even at the end, it makes perfect sense that Edward Hyde not only wants, but needs to return to being Dr. Jeckyll, for all that he hates him.

This is a wonderful example of Sciene Fiction, and hard s/f at that. It is a chemical compound that allows him to seperate himself into two identities. The author very neatly keeps the experiment from being duplicated - the effect was caused by an unkown impurity in an indgredient. Dr. Jeckyll himself tries desperately to recreate the compound, but cannot. I simple makes sense that no one else is able to, either.

The story says volumes about the morals and philosopy of morals of the time. Dr. Jeckyll is trying to divorce himself from what he considers his baser urges. Those urges become a seperate identity, which takes on an outer shape reflecting his inner nature. It's taken for granted that morality or lack thereof would be obvious on someone's face.

Dr. Jeckyll may have been, originally, trying to put aside his baser urges. His chemical compound, however, gave him a way to indulge those urges, without consequence to himself. If Edward Hyde indulged in reprehensible acts, no one would think it had anything to do with Dr. Jeckyll. Even those who knew there was a connection, assumed that Hyde was blackmailing Jeckyll.

I find myself comparing this to the Orginal Series Star Trek Episode, "The Enemy Within". (Yes, everything in the world is connected to Star Trek. Hush.) In this episode, a transporter accident splits Captain Kirk into two men. They're physically identical, but one has all of Kirk's higher, gentler aspects, and the other has all of his baser, more violent aspects. The acting (Yes, there was so acting. Didn't I tell you to hush?) was the only difference between the two Kirks. And, unlike the good Dr. Jeckyll, Kirk found his salvation not in repression, but in integration. To be his best self, he needed both his angel and his devil.

Dr. Jeckyll, however, found that give way to his darker side gave that side power. To him and his contemporaries, Kirk's solution was unthinkable. The baser part of man was a thing to be fought, suppressed, ideally to be killed entirely. Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde is a dramatic lesson in the dangers of giving way to your baser urges. At the end, it was just thinking like Hyde that brought on the transformation; that part of him had become that strong.

I don't, personally, subscribe to that philosophy. But you don't have to agree with the underlying philosophy to be moved by the tale. Dr. Jeckyll let something dangerous into his life. Once he realized just how dangerous, he stopped using the compound, and put Hyde out of his mind entirely. But he gave into temptation. You could imagine him thinking, "It'll be okay just this one time." Who hasn't thought that? But that one more time was his undoing.