Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde & Other Stories

by Robert Louis Stevenson

This spine-tingling volume collects some of Robert Louis Stevenson’s stories first published in the late 19th century for a new generation of young readers—featuring a freshly reimagined cover!

Dr. Henry Jekyll is a respectable man, sociable and well-liked, so his friends Mr. Utterson and Mr. Enfield are concerned when Dr. Jekyll appears linked to Edward Hyde. Mr. Hyde’s outbursts of violence have their small community on edge; he may be small in stature, but no one can deny he’s terribly dangerous, self-indulgent, and even evil.

As Dr. Jekyll’s behavior grows more erratic and Mr. Utterson circles in ever closer to the elusive Mr. Hyde, the shocking truth of the relationship between the good doctor and the unholy terror comes to light—a chain of events set off by a repressed man giving himself over wholly to the worst of his vices and shame.

Also included are “The Body Snatcher,” a story about medical students haunted by what they’ve done to obtain cadavers, and “The Bottle Imp,” a tale of a man who buys a cursed bottle who learns about the consequences of wishes.

189 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 27, 2024

About the author

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.

Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.

Reviews

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize this story was a short story. In fact, this book was actually three short stories and admittedly those were slightly better. I have seen a few characters, movie portrayals, and even the play, but never read the source material. The cover was really cool, which drew me in, but the story itself was meh. It wasn't very detailed and not at all how I thought the story would go. Most of it didn't make any sense and the conclusion was just weird. I think it's good to always read the source material, but I'm good not reading this again.

[Joshua · Rating 2 out of 5]

The actual story of Jekyll and Hyde is quite compelling but RLS's written novella was a bit of a wet fart, even as someone who very much so enjoys classical English prose. Jekyll's final monologue could cure insomnia. The other stories in this collection I also cared little for and caught myself zooming out and disconnecting all too often.

[Camryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Jekyll had more than a father’s interest; Hyde had more than a son's indifference. To cast in my lot with Jekyll was to die to those appetites which I had long secretly indulged and had of late begun to pamper. To cast it in with Hyde was to die to a thousand interests and aspirations, and to become, at a blow and forever, despised and friendless”


This was my favorite quote of the story:

To be Jekyll means to give up his desires, and secret indulgences (experiments) in order to live up to the 'good' doctor persona that is expected of him. Its death to his work and desires. but to be Hyde, would be social suicide. He would lose all of the status of being Jekyll and all of his friends forever.

Jekyll has realized that he can no longer wear Hyde as a costume of sorts. Hyde is a part of him, he must choose to be Jekyll or Hyde and either way he loses a piece of himself.

[kiwi]

really liked the first and last story, didn’t really get the 2nd one, dont like rating classics, especially not if the genre is overall just not my thing

this wasnt really my thing, but i want to try different genres, so here we go :)

i liked the writing style and did enjoy the first story more than i expected. if i went from a different point i might have interpreted way more but i just wanted to enjoy the story.

the 3rd one read like a fairytale and i quite liked it. i was happy about the ending.

[Josh Poland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eeriely creepy and disturbing. A classic that really holds up (for the most part) to modern audiences. Be prepared for 45%-50% of the book to be told in letters/flashbacks/re-tellings, but this does not take away from the feeling of "creepiness". The only drawback is the dated reactions to certain events; when a person nearly has a panic attack from being told a minor rude comment, it comes across as more comedy than horror. Overall, lives up to the hype.

[Francisco · Rating 2 out of 5]

the musical is better

[Jonathan Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story overall was good. My only problem was the ending. I felt it fell a bit flat and didn’t really live up to the buildup the story was creating.