Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The - R L Stevenson

We all know about the characters of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which has been portrayed in many films (around 123) too, but did we read about the starting of all these. These are the characters from the pen of Robert Louis Stevenson. I just completed this novella after getting the e-book online, and it was a good read.

About the book and the author - This novella was written by RL Stevenson and published in 1886 by Longmans Green & co. It is approx 96 pages long (comparing from my e-book), having 10 chapters in all. RL Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet and travel writer, born in Edinburgh on 13 november 1850, and died on 3 december 1894. His other notable works include, "Treasure Island", "Kidnapped" (I got these 2 books also in e-book format).

About the Plot and the characters - The plot includes investigation did by a London-based lawyer named Mr. Utterson, who have a strange scientist friend by the name Dr. Henry Jekyll. One day he got a will signed from him, which said that after his disappearance or his death, everything should be given to an unknown man named as Mr.Hyde. Nobody knows about him, even their common friend Dr.Lanyon too. Utterson didn't want to do that, since he didn't personally knew about this Mr. Hyde, and one day someone killed a renowned MP of town Sir Danvers Carew, and eye-witness maid said that it is Mr.Hyde who killed him. Mr.Hyde as by the appearance looks short and looks like no man but a beastly evil character of small stature, and always comes out in night. Later on Utterson fount the truth about Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde after the disappearance of the former.

Pros of books - This is one of the books which can be considered as a pure classic, coining a new term and a story about "Split Personality", where one man can be gentle and pure in one form but can be totally evil in another one, although here it resulted because of a failed experiment, so you can see that this is a very good plot and a very good thinking by the author, and it is the era of so many good though stories, and has great writers like Jules Verne, JRR Tolkien etc. The story was enfolded carefully like a mystery, suspense is generated after each page, and which made the reader interested to go on further till the end to know what is actually going on with Dr.Jekyll. Although we all know the thing behind this story, but nevertheless if you're a good reader you'll certainly felt intrigued by the plot covered by the author with suspense. The book is as original as it can be.

Cons of book - An old contemporary English is used that was prevalent in old England, so you seem to find many such lines, which can be thought of bad english grammer examples, and some hard words too, adding to it some explaination which is absent in now-a-days books. So readability can be a -ve for today's reader, yes but a classic lover will always love a classic, and that wordings and language is a positive addition over that, that what made this classic book classic.

I started it yesterday, and just before 12 today, finished the book, and now the review. I must say that you can buy this book wherever you found it. If you require e-book version ask me or download free from internet sites. To buy, it's available for Rs.113/Rs.75 on flipkart. This was my first read of RL Stevenson, and since I have two more e-books of him, I'm going to read them too. My Take 4/5. Do read it.

GRuchirG.

(: in the process of growing-up)

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This is perhaps one of the best books written by R.L. Stevenson. it speaks about a character, Dr.Jekyll, who is reasonably successful and well to do in life. But his mysterious and incurable obssesion with splitting the human soul into two parts : (one good and the other evil) leads to his tragic downfall.

Dr.Jekyll, using his skill as a doctor is able to transform himself with the help of a rare and potent medicine into a force of evil: Mr.Hyde. This character simply reeks of evil and represents the suppressed bad vices present in each man. He goes on to create havoc but can never be caught since he transforms into the ''innocent'' Dr.Jekyll. At first the doctor loves his new found power but soon realizes that he no longer can control the urges and misgivings of Hyde. He transforms into Hyde without wishing to do so and changing back to himself becomes more and more difficult. The doctor runs out of the medicine one day and is trapped in the body of Hyde. In the end, the doctor tragically himself.

The story is well-written and the suspense is brilliantly held up till the end. this is compulsive and compelling reading. Well done Stevenson!!!

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You must have heard of the term Jekyll and Hyde a number of times before. It is now a part of our language and has also found its way into most dictionaries. We can define Jekyll and Hyde as a person having a split personality, one side of which is good and the other evil But do you know that the origin of this word is from the book The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was written by Robert Louis Stevenson when he was recovering from an illness. The original idea occurred from a nightmare and he developed the idea into a full-length story.

Main Characters

Dr. Henry Jekyll is a tall, handsome, well respected, wealthy middle-aged doctor. He believes that within each human being, there exists two countering forces, good and evil. According to him a person can alternate between being charming demeanor and extremely unpleasant or evil. To prove this he tries a series of experiments in an effort to separate the two.

Edward Hyde A small, deformed young man. He is often compared to animals, implying that he is not a fully evolved human being. He is described as pure evil and he menaces society at night.

Mr. Utterson is the narrator. He is middle-age lawyer and an old friend of Jekyll’s, in whom Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde confide in throughout the novel. He recognizes the changes and strange occurrences that center around both Jekyll and Hyde.

Dr. Lanyon a former friend and colleague of Dr. Jekyll. Ten years before the events in the novel, he suspended his friendship with Dr. Jekyll because of a disagreement over scientific approach. He values the truth and goodness and is a respected doctor.

Story

Once Utterson attended a dinner party at Jekyll's where Dr. Lanyon was also present. Shortly after that Dr. Lanyon fell ill and died. Dr. Lanyon leaves Jekyll a letter instructing him not to read it for ten years.

The book begins with two men on a walk in London. After passing a mysterious cellar door in a basement, one of them narrates a strange occurrence about the door. Late one night, while he was on his way home, he saw a short, deformed man who trampled a girl in the street. The man and the girl's family catch the mysterious man. But instead of calling the police, they decide to blackmail him and force him to give the girl's family some money. The little man agrees, disappears into the cellar door and comes out with a check. The strange thing is that it does not bear not his own name, but that of Dr. Jekyll a well known and respectable doctor. Surprisingly still, the check was not a fake.

After hearing the story, the other person Mr. Utterson (who happens to be Dr. Jekyll’s friend) returns to his home where he removes Dr. Jekyll's mysterious will. Jekyll's will stated that in case of his death, his substantial estate will pass to Mr. Hyde. The stargeest part of the will is that in case of the doctor’s disappearance for more than three months, Mr. Hyde was to assume Jekyll's life. Utterson realizes that the mysterious door is connected to Jekyll's home. Utterson strongly feels that Jekyll is being blackmailed by Hyde and wants to know why. But the doctor is not ready to talk. Infact he gets angry.

A year later, Hyde murders someone. Utterson helps the police find Hyde's apartment which is ransacked. Utterson confronts Jekyll and accuses him of harboring a murder. Jekyll claims that he has nothing left to do with Hyde and shows Utterson a farewell note from Hyde. Utterson examines the note and discovers that the handwriting from the note matches a dinner invitation written by Dr. Jekyll. Utterson assumes that Jekyll has forged a letter for a murderer. Time passes and Hyde has not been located as yet. One day Jekyll's butler, approaches Utterson.

The poor man is frightened because Jekyll has locked himself in the basement he could hear strange sounds including someone crying. The letters desperately asking for a specific type of salt was the only communication between them. Utterson follows the butler to Jekyll's house and breaks down a red cabinet where the body of Hyde is found. In the laboratory, the two men discover a large envelope addressed to Mr. Utterson. It contains a letter in which Jekyll urges Utterson to first read the package from Lanyon and if he wished to know more to the read the description that Jekyll provided within the envelope. Lanyon's narrative begins by describing a strange letter he received from Henry Jekyll, the night after a dinner party at Jekyll's residence……………..

After reading the account of Dr. Lanyon, Utterson then reads Jekyll's own account of his failed experiment. Hyde kills himself and hence both the men are left free……. lets both Jekyll and Hyde free.

How? What was Dr. Jekyll's experiment? Who was Mr. Hyde? What was written in the letter? What happened to both of them? To know, you have to read the book :)

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