| Product: |
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson |
| Date: |
05/10/01 (321 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Gripping, Not too long
Disadvantages: Marred by some film adaptations
WARNING: Contains plot spoilers!
Published in 1886, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (of Treasure Island fame!) is a horror, mystery and parable all rolled into one.
The story unfolds through the various narratives of a Mr Enfield, a mr Utterson, a Dr Lanyon and dr Jekyll's butler - Poole.
Dr Jekyll, a respected man of science, begins experimenting in an attempt to find a way to separeate the good and evil aspects of his nature.
He develops a drug that frees his evil side and transforms him into the deformed, degenerate Mr Hyde. Initially he finds it easy to return to being Jekyll, but this becomes increasingly difficult with time until he finds himself slipping involuntarily into his evil alter-ego.
Eventually his supplies of drugs run out and he is unable to produce any more. Hyde is now wanted for murder and so Jekyll finally kills himself. However, the body that is found is that of Hyde, accompanied by a confession that reveals the 2 men to have been one and the same.
The book was extremely well received upon publication, and remains popular, spawning several film and theatre productions. Stevenson's contemporaries saw the work as a comment on the evil innate in society and failed to see the comment against themselves.
Stevenson is targeting what he viewed as the hypocrisy of his times, where appearance and facade was a part of everyday life. He loathed the pretense of respectability amongst the corrupt upper classes.
Aside form these elements, the book has an excellent plot, full of suspense, horror and excitement - a great read for Halloween!
Summary:
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