Dr. Jekyll has been experimenting with identity. He has developed a drug which separates the two sides of his nature, allowing him to abandon himself to his most corrupt inclinations as the monstrous Mr. Hyde. But gradually the journey back to goodness becomes more and more difficult, and the risk that Mr. Hyde will break free from Dr. Jekyll’s control puts all of London in grave peril. This groundbreaking tale of identity and morality is accompanied by several other of Stevenson’s best short stories, including “The Body-Snatcher,” “A Lodging for the Night,” “Markheim,” “The Misadventures of John Nicholson,” and “Thrawn Jane.”
Stevenson’s short stories are certain to retain their position in English literature. His serious rivals are few indeed. —Arthur Conan Doyle
A fable that lies nearer to poetry than to ordinary prose fiction. —Vladimir Nabokov
Another genius Scottish take on the theme of split personalities. Needs no further introduction. —Maggie O’Farrell, author,The Distance Between Us
Robert Louis Stevenson . . . was a storyteller, that’s what I’d like to be, that’s what I’m trying to be. —Quintin Jardine
Mr. Hyde's sordid and perhaps deviant excesses are rendered more suggestive through being left undescribed. —Sarah Waters
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a novelist, poet, and travel writer. His best-known works includeA Child's Garden of Verses(1885) andTreasure Island(1883).