Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 3/18/2022 + 1176 more book reviews

I originally read this classic when I was in high school back in the 1960s. Recently, I read a pastiche called Dr Jekyll and Mr Holmes by Loren D. Estleman where the author puts Sherlock Holmes in the story of Jekyll and Hyde. After reading this, I decided to reread the original by Stevenson to see how it compared and because I really didn't remember too much about the original novel. Well the Stevenson story is pretty much like the pastiche by Estleman if you eliminate Holmes and Watson from the tale. Of course most everyone knows the story of Jekyll and Hyde...a tale of dual personalities where Jekyll is able to chemically eliminate the good Dr. Jekyll and change into the evil Mr. Hyde. The story tells how Jekyll's lawyer, Utterson, is upset when he learns of his will which would leave his estate to a Mr. Hyde in the event of Jekyll disappearance. But he had heard of Hyde who had carelessly run into a young child without remorse. Then later Hyde is sought by the law when he kills a member of parliament. And later in the story, Hyde is found in Jekyll's laboratory, but what has become of Jekyll? All is revealed in a statement at the end where Jekyll describes his transformations into Hyde and his problem trying to stop transforming into him.

This classic story wasn't quite what I remembered. I think I remember the story more from the movie versions especially the 1941 version starring Spencer Tracy. Of course the movie version included a love interest and costars Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner as well as a lot of scenes of Hyde's debauchery that were not included in the novel. I guess Hollywood needed more action to sell seats to the theater! But the novel is still a classic and if I were able to read it cold without the foreknowledge of the story, I think it would have had a much harder impact.

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