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Usborne Classics Retold
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
A retelling of the classic story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Designed for children from around the age of nine, it is part of the Usborne Classics range, which covers a variety of authors and periods, and seeks to introduce the younger reader to the great works and authors of literature.
Library Binding
First published February 1, 1996
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About the author
John Grant
537 books183 followersJohn Grant is author of over eighty books, of which about twenty-five are fiction, including novels like The World, The Hundredfold Problem, The Far-Enough Window and most recently The Dragons of Manhattan and Leaving Fortusa. His “book-length fiction” Dragonhenge, illustrated by Bob Eggleton, was shortlisted for a Hugo Award in 2003; its successor was The Stardragons. His first story collection, Take No Prisoners, appeared in 2004. He is editor of the anthology New Writings in the Fantastic, which was shortlisted for a British Fantasy Award. His novellas The City in These Pages and The Lonely Hunter have appeared from PS Publishing.
His latest fiction book is Tell No Lies , his second story collection; it's published by Alchemy Press. His most recent nonfiction is A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Film Noir . Earlier, he coedited with John Clute The Encyclopedia of Fantasy and wrote in their entirety all three editions of The Encyclopedia of Walt Disney’s Animated Characters; both encyclopedias are standard reference works in their field. Among other recent nonfictions have been Discarded Science, Corrupted Science (a USA Today Book of the Year), Bogus Science and Denying Science.
As John Grant he has to date received two Hugo Awards, the World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award, and a number of other international literary awards. He has written books under other names, even including his real one: as Paul Barnett, he has written a few books (like the space operas Strider’s Galaxy and Strider’s Universe) and for a number of years ran the world-famous fantasy-artbook imprint Paper Tiger, for this work earning a Chesley Award and a nomination for the World Fantasy Award.
His latest fiction book is Tell No Lies , his second story collection; it's published by Alchemy Press. His most recent nonfiction is A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Film Noir . Earlier, he coedited with John Clute The Encyclopedia of Fantasy and wrote in their entirety all three editions of The Encyclopedia of Walt Disney’s Animated Characters; both encyclopedias are standard reference works in their field. Among other recent nonfictions have been Discarded Science, Corrupted Science (a USA Today Book of the Year), Bogus Science and Denying Science.
As John Grant he has to date received two Hugo Awards, the World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award, and a number of other international literary awards. He has written books under other names, even including his real one: as Paul Barnett, he has written a few books (like the space operas Strider’s Galaxy and Strider’s Universe) and for a number of years ran the world-famous fantasy-artbook imprint Paper Tiger, for this work earning a Chesley Award and a nomination for the World Fantasy Award.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 4, 2019
Personal Response
I enjoyed this book because it did a great job of describing the atmosphere. Whether it was describing how dreadful a character Mr. Hyde is, or discussing the relationships between Jekyll and the other characters. The book did a good job of explaining and making the reader interested.
Plot Summary
While experimenting in his laboratory, Dr. Jekyll concocts a potion that he believes will separate the good and evil of his body. The potion, however, simply turns him into a small, cruel man he calls Mr. Hyde. While out one night, Hyde tramples a young girl and is forced to pay for her injuries by a witness named Richard. Richard then discusses this event with his cousin, Mr. Utterson. Utterson already knows of Hyde as he is Jekyll’s lawyer, and Jekyll claims Hyde is his business partner.
Hyde eventually gets into trouble with the police when he is seen beating to death a man named Sir Danvers Carew, with his walking stick. Half the stick s left behind and Utterson recognizes it as a walking stick he gifted to Jekyll. Utterson confronts Jekyll, who shows him a note he says was written by Hyde. But since Hyde's handwriting is nearly the same as Jekyll’s, Utterson believes Jekyll forged the letter.
For two months following this, Jekyll reverts to his normal self and starts having visitors again. But in early January, he begins to act strange again. Jekyll sends a letter to a former scientist companion, Hastie Lanyon, asking to get certain chemicals from his laboratory. Jekyll cannot receive them himself as the police have his lab surrounded. After Hastie returns to his house with the chemicals, Hyde visits his home and makes a potion with the chemicals, which he then drinks, transforming him into Dr. Jekyll. He then explains everything to Hastie who dies of shock a few days later.
Before Hastie died, he wrote a letter to Utterson explaining Jekyll’s odd behavior. Utterson then visits Jekyll who is very distraught because one of the ingredients for his potion ran low, and he no longer has any way to turn himself back to normal, as he can randomly turn into Hyde at any time. Jekyll locks himself in the back room of his laboratory, and when Utterson breaks the door down he finds Jekyll dead, but in the form of Mr. Hyde.
Recommendations
I recommend this book to anyone interested in classic literature. The book can get overly detailed at times but never will go over the readers head. Anyone who enjoys books that discuss psychological themes will enjoy this read.
Characterization
Mr. Utterson
Throughout the book, Mr. Utterson seems trusting and caring, but by the end, he becomes somewhat emotionless. He no longer feels sorrowful for Jekyll. Utterson may have been kind and loyal, but he realized that Jekyll’s downfall was his own fault.
Dr. Jekyll
Dr. Jekyll is perceived by many as a kind man, but he also tends to give into some of life’s temptations. He spent most of his early life trying to suppress these urges, as they didn’t fit a man of his stature. At the end however, he began to make several excuses for himself on why he gave into his inner urges.
Mr. Hyde
There are many instances in the book where Hyde is described as a physical embodiment of cruelty. People say that looking at his face could make your blood freeze. Hyde grows more and more aggressive as the story continues.
I enjoyed this book because it did a great job of describing the atmosphere. Whether it was describing how dreadful a character Mr. Hyde is, or discussing the relationships between Jekyll and the other characters. The book did a good job of explaining and making the reader interested.
Plot Summary
While experimenting in his laboratory, Dr. Jekyll concocts a potion that he believes will separate the good and evil of his body. The potion, however, simply turns him into a small, cruel man he calls Mr. Hyde. While out one night, Hyde tramples a young girl and is forced to pay for her injuries by a witness named Richard. Richard then discusses this event with his cousin, Mr. Utterson. Utterson already knows of Hyde as he is Jekyll’s lawyer, and Jekyll claims Hyde is his business partner.
Hyde eventually gets into trouble with the police when he is seen beating to death a man named Sir Danvers Carew, with his walking stick. Half the stick s left behind and Utterson recognizes it as a walking stick he gifted to Jekyll. Utterson confronts Jekyll, who shows him a note he says was written by Hyde. But since Hyde's handwriting is nearly the same as Jekyll’s, Utterson believes Jekyll forged the letter.
For two months following this, Jekyll reverts to his normal self and starts having visitors again. But in early January, he begins to act strange again. Jekyll sends a letter to a former scientist companion, Hastie Lanyon, asking to get certain chemicals from his laboratory. Jekyll cannot receive them himself as the police have his lab surrounded. After Hastie returns to his house with the chemicals, Hyde visits his home and makes a potion with the chemicals, which he then drinks, transforming him into Dr. Jekyll. He then explains everything to Hastie who dies of shock a few days later.
Before Hastie died, he wrote a letter to Utterson explaining Jekyll’s odd behavior. Utterson then visits Jekyll who is very distraught because one of the ingredients for his potion ran low, and he no longer has any way to turn himself back to normal, as he can randomly turn into Hyde at any time. Jekyll locks himself in the back room of his laboratory, and when Utterson breaks the door down he finds Jekyll dead, but in the form of Mr. Hyde.
Recommendations
I recommend this book to anyone interested in classic literature. The book can get overly detailed at times but never will go over the readers head. Anyone who enjoys books that discuss psychological themes will enjoy this read.
Characterization
Mr. Utterson
Throughout the book, Mr. Utterson seems trusting and caring, but by the end, he becomes somewhat emotionless. He no longer feels sorrowful for Jekyll. Utterson may have been kind and loyal, but he realized that Jekyll’s downfall was his own fault.
Dr. Jekyll
Dr. Jekyll is perceived by many as a kind man, but he also tends to give into some of life’s temptations. He spent most of his early life trying to suppress these urges, as they didn’t fit a man of his stature. At the end however, he began to make several excuses for himself on why he gave into his inner urges.
Mr. Hyde
There are many instances in the book where Hyde is described as a physical embodiment of cruelty. People say that looking at his face could make your blood freeze. Hyde grows more and more aggressive as the story continues.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2023
I bought this kids version by mistake tho king it was Stevenson’s original. Decided to read it anyway and thoroughly enjoyed it. The section at the back detailing other tellings of the same or similar story in either book or film format was a very interesting addition. I’d recommend this if you haven’t got the motivation to read the original classic.
October 11, 2018
An easy read to get me back into the flow of reading a book. Spent far too long over it, however, finished and enjoyed! Nice adapted classic for younger readers.
August 6, 2022
A story about a man who is struggling to come out of the closet (cabinet). - there isn't any gay bent to this story explicitly, but I think there are a lot of ways that it might be interpreted, which makes this story interesting and possibly why it's a classic.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews