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Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: And Other Stories
Robert Louis Stevenson originally wrote "Dr. Jekyll And Mr Hyde" as a "chilling shocker." He then burned the draft and, upon his wife's advice, rewrote it as the darkly complex tale it is today. 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 1866, "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."
324 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1995
About the author
Robert Louis Stevenson
7,567 books7,215 followersRobert 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 5, 2021
Book 60/52
average rating of 3 stars
05/10/2021
❌ The Ebb-Tide
1 star
DNF'd this story because I wasn't enjoying it at all. Couldn't be bothered to finish it honestly, being pretty problematic with the colonial attitudes (which I guess was normal for it's time, but made me cringe in this day and age).
03/10/2021
✔️ Markheim
4 stars
This felt heavily inspired by Crime and Punishment at first, yet takes a different direction. Here the main character feels no remorse at all in the beginning, but after a nice chat with the devil, he changes his mind. Fun story, I liked it!
✔️ Olalla
2 stars
Nope, this wasn't for me. If I would have wanted to read a tale about vampires (?) and one man's obsession with a girl without listening to her, I would have read Twilight again.
02/10/2021
✔️ Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
4.5/5 stars
I really liked this one! I went into this without knowing anything (shocking I know), so I was pleasantly surprised. Great twist, very unexpected if you didn't know what the story was about.
✔️ The Body Snatcher
3/5 stars
It was going well, but that ending was so abrupt. I would have liked atleast a tiny bit of explanation, but alas.
average rating of 3 stars
05/10/2021
❌ The Ebb-Tide
1 star
DNF'd this story because I wasn't enjoying it at all. Couldn't be bothered to finish it honestly, being pretty problematic with the colonial attitudes (which I guess was normal for it's time, but made me cringe in this day and age).
03/10/2021
✔️ Markheim
4 stars
This felt heavily inspired by Crime and Punishment at first, yet takes a different direction. Here the main character feels no remorse at all in the beginning, but after a nice chat with the devil, he changes his mind. Fun story, I liked it!
✔️ Olalla
2 stars
Nope, this wasn't for me. If I would have wanted to read a tale about vampires (?) and one man's obsession with a girl without listening to her, I would have read Twilight again.
02/10/2021
✔️ Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
4.5/5 stars
I really liked this one! I went into this without knowing anything (shocking I know), so I was pleasantly surprised. Great twist, very unexpected if you didn't know what the story was about.
✔️ The Body Snatcher
3/5 stars
It was going well, but that ending was so abrupt. I would have liked atleast a tiny bit of explanation, but alas.
January 5, 2016
The title story is pretty good, as are two other short stories after it, but then the quality steadily declines. The last story, a novella, occupies half the book and is the worst of them, so that's what is dragging down the rating. The writing is an old style that is hard to get into and easy to leave and forget what was going on. Other than that, Stevenson is good at setting mood and creating a gloomy atmosphere.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: a pretty good story, although there's not a lot more to it than is known in popular culture. The horror of the story is in finding out what was really going on. The author is good at maintaining the mood, and I like the description of Mr. Hyde. There are no specifics other than he's short, but the description of his features as looking almost like they move and roil, and that he looks deformed although there's no single specific deformity was quite effective for me. It was also good to say that anyone who saw him instantly hated him for no discernable reason.
The Body-Snatcher: a pretty good traditional ghost story. Once again the mood is maintained well and you see with stark clarity the dismal situation the two medical students are in.
Markheim: this one is interesting and ends in a way that ties the story up pretty well. Markheim's conversation with the unknown being and his final decision are plausible and engaging.
Olalla: this one's not so great. It still has the mood and setting, but nothing really gets resolved or even revealed.
The Ebb-Tide: this story has no point and takes up half the book. It's nautically themed and Stevenson knows what he's talking about, but you'd be much better off reading Treasure Island.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: a pretty good story, although there's not a lot more to it than is known in popular culture. The horror of the story is in finding out what was really going on. The author is good at maintaining the mood, and I like the description of Mr. Hyde. There are no specifics other than he's short, but the description of his features as looking almost like they move and roil, and that he looks deformed although there's no single specific deformity was quite effective for me. It was also good to say that anyone who saw him instantly hated him for no discernable reason.
The Body-Snatcher: a pretty good traditional ghost story. Once again the mood is maintained well and you see with stark clarity the dismal situation the two medical students are in.
Markheim: this one is interesting and ends in a way that ties the story up pretty well. Markheim's conversation with the unknown being and his final decision are plausible and engaging.
Olalla: this one's not so great. It still has the mood and setting, but nothing really gets resolved or even revealed.
The Ebb-Tide: this story has no point and takes up half the book. It's nautically themed and Stevenson knows what he's talking about, but you'd be much better off reading Treasure Island.
June 14, 2013
Overall, I give this short story collection four stars. I had never read Stevenson before, but being a fan of gothic horror stories like Dracula and Frankenstein, figured it was about time. Here's my breakdown of the different short stories...
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
This one is definitely 5 stars! It is easily a classic gothic horror story reflecting the duality of men. It took a few pages for me to really want to keep reading, but once I was able to start guessing more at what was happening and what was to come, I became more invested in it and really appreciated it. It's my favorite of these short stories.
The Body-Snatcher
This one is more 3.5-4 stars. It was short, which was nice, because none of it seemed to drag on. There didn't seem to be as much depth behind this one, but it was a classic scary story and also raised some questions about what I would do in these horrific situations. So I enjoyed this one for the creepy factor, mostly.
Markheim
I was debating between 4 and 5 stars on this one, and eventually just had to go with 5 stars. I'm not exactly sure what it is about this story, but it kept me interested and curious, and then the end was what really made it for me. I like to think of this story almost as an older, gothic version of the short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates, because the stranger at the end had that Arnold Friend air about him. Without revealing too much, the stranger at the end of the story is debated to be either the devil or Markheim's conscience, and I really loved how that was portrayed.
Ollala
This one gets 3 stars. It was not as suspenseful as the others, though mysterious families in castles and mansions always appeal to me. In the end, I was annoyed by the main character's thoughts and I didn't really understand if Stevenson had a big point to make with this story or if it was just what it was. I will say that I liked the idea of the Señora trying to get "pure blood" after the family's reputation of "bad blood."
The Ebb-Tide
Ugh. This one was really tedious. Especially the chapters Lloyd Osbourne wrote in the beginning. I have to give this one 2 stars, because it was not interesting to me until the end, and then even that was a bit of a let down due to the confusing message it threw around. After thinking about it, I can see how Stevenson was incorporating his mixed feelings about Christianity, but I just didn't really like the story that much, and the only character I liked was Herrick.
Well, I do recommend this for anyone who likes gothic romanticism/horror stories. Some parts were dull, but some of it was really interesting and sufficiently creepy! I will definitely be reading more of Stevenson's works! :)
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
This one is definitely 5 stars! It is easily a classic gothic horror story reflecting the duality of men. It took a few pages for me to really want to keep reading, but once I was able to start guessing more at what was happening and what was to come, I became more invested in it and really appreciated it. It's my favorite of these short stories.
The Body-Snatcher
This one is more 3.5-4 stars. It was short, which was nice, because none of it seemed to drag on. There didn't seem to be as much depth behind this one, but it was a classic scary story and also raised some questions about what I would do in these horrific situations. So I enjoyed this one for the creepy factor, mostly.
Markheim
I was debating between 4 and 5 stars on this one, and eventually just had to go with 5 stars. I'm not exactly sure what it is about this story, but it kept me interested and curious, and then the end was what really made it for me. I like to think of this story almost as an older, gothic version of the short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates, because the stranger at the end had that Arnold Friend air about him. Without revealing too much, the stranger at the end of the story is debated to be either the devil or Markheim's conscience, and I really loved how that was portrayed.
Ollala
This one gets 3 stars. It was not as suspenseful as the others, though mysterious families in castles and mansions always appeal to me. In the end, I was annoyed by the main character's thoughts and I didn't really understand if Stevenson had a big point to make with this story or if it was just what it was. I will say that I liked the idea of the Señora trying to get "pure blood" after the family's reputation of "bad blood."
The Ebb-Tide
Ugh. This one was really tedious. Especially the chapters Lloyd Osbourne wrote in the beginning. I have to give this one 2 stars, because it was not interesting to me until the end, and then even that was a bit of a let down due to the confusing message it threw around. After thinking about it, I can see how Stevenson was incorporating his mixed feelings about Christianity, but I just didn't really like the story that much, and the only character I liked was Herrick.
Well, I do recommend this for anyone who likes gothic romanticism/horror stories. Some parts were dull, but some of it was really interesting and sufficiently creepy! I will definitely be reading more of Stevenson's works! :)
September 21, 2021
- My favorite genre of fiction is that which includes monsters, so I was very much looking forward to rereading Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde . I do think that Stevenson's narrative would be a lot more enrapturing if Jekyll and Hyde weren't so ingrained into the public conscience, and readers didn't already know the big twist, but the story structure and suspenseful diction capture the gothic tone nonetheless.
- The part that I absolutely cannot put down is the ending in which Jekyll's letter explains to Utterson the goings-on of himself and Hyde. I don't usually like when books pare out exactly what happens word-for-word, but Stevenson expertly aligns all previous hints and foreshadowing in a way that the ending log seems to allow all of these mismatched pieces to fall into place. Stevenson's writing style is fantastic, and the almost contrived way he overexplains and underexplains certain aspects of the narrative rings true for such intelligent but eccentric minds as our main characters.
- Though this edition includes more stories written by Stevenson, I stopped at Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde after reading the less favorable reviews by fellow Goodreads members. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed perusing the incredulous mind of Utterson and the strange, extraordinary mind of Mssrs. Jekyll and Hyde.
- The part that I absolutely cannot put down is the ending in which Jekyll's letter explains to Utterson the goings-on of himself and Hyde. I don't usually like when books pare out exactly what happens word-for-word, but Stevenson expertly aligns all previous hints and foreshadowing in a way that the ending log seems to allow all of these mismatched pieces to fall into place. Stevenson's writing style is fantastic, and the almost contrived way he overexplains and underexplains certain aspects of the narrative rings true for such intelligent but eccentric minds as our main characters.
- Though this edition includes more stories written by Stevenson, I stopped at Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde after reading the less favorable reviews by fellow Goodreads members. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed perusing the incredulous mind of Utterson and the strange, extraordinary mind of Mssrs. Jekyll and Hyde.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews