by Robert Louis Stevenson
Published by Penguin Classics
We all know the horror story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, well a lot of us know the story of the kind and gentle doctor and the evil counterpart.
You can see it now, a man takes a drink of a potion which bubbles and glows then falls behind the settee before standing up as Edward Hyde, a stooped over, ugly figure who disappears into the night intent on murder and mayhem.
Except that is not how RLS wrote it.
I know many people are positive they have read or seen the mild-mannered man turn into a monster, as described above. Except that is a better fit with the films, or TV series, or “sequels” that have proliferated since the story was first published in 1886.
The description above could have been taken from any of the films of the book and even from spoofs such as Carry on Screaming with Kenneth Williams as a mad scientist (more Dr Frankenstein than the pleasant doctor of Stevenson’s novella).
In fact the description could have been a scene from the Carry On film except the person drinking the potion was an upright Victorian policeman, played by Harry H Corbett (the H there so that he could be distinguished from Harry Corbett of Sooty fame).
I will not give you details of the actual book because if you go to it with an open mind you should find the original far superior to any other version.
The book tells the story of friends and relations, the good doctor, his long-term friend, a lawyer, as well as a loyal manservant.
It is also about the id, the ego and the super ego , the three aspects of personality as viewed by Sigmund Freud.
Do not be put off by what some see as psychobabble. Stevenson has presented the whole thing in a manner that can be read at any level and still remains a cracking read.
I urge you to give it a go.
Robin's Nest 