381 pages
English language
Published Dec. 1, 1978 by Signet Classic.
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1886. The work is also known as The Strange Case of Jekyll Hyde, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, or simply Jekyll and Hyde. It is about a London legal practitioner named Gabriel John Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll, and the evil Edward Hyde. The novella's impact is such that it has become a part of the language, with the vernacular phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" referring to persons with an unpredictably dual nature: outwardly good, but sometimes shockingly evil.
I think this was possibly ruined by Jekyll and Hyde being such a defining work and now well known trope. No doubt it was amazing for the time.
If I could somehow read it without that context I imagine I would have enjoyed it a lot more. As it is, it’s a passable horror with plenty to read into the themes.
A bit disappointing overall, though.
