Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Robert Louis Stevenson · 1886
This book is rated Ages 13+. It isn't available on your library card.
In foggy Victorian London the lawyer Mr Utterson grows uneasy about his friend Dr Henry Jekyll's strange will, which leaves everything to a brutal, stunted man named Edward Hyde -- a man no one can describe, yet everyone who sees him hates on sight.
A gothic mystery with a murder and a death, shown by the moment before and after, never in gruesome detail.
Characters
Mr. Utterson
A dry, unsmiling London lawyer, loyal to his friends, who sets out to uncover the truth about the sinister Mr. Hyde.
Mr. Hyde
A small, repellent young man who fills everyone with loathing, and who somehow holds a key to Dr. Jekyll's door.
Dr. Jekyll
A handsome, well-loved doctor and scientist whose strange will and nervous secrecy trouble his old friend Utterson.
Poole
Dr. Jekyll's dignified, devoted old butler, who grows increasingly anxious about his master's odd ways.
Dr. Lanyon
A hearty, white-haired physician and old friend of Jekyll's, who fell out with him over 'unscientific balderdash'.
Mr. Enfield
Utterson's lively cousin, a man about town, whose tale of a trampled girl and a strange door begins the mystery.
Inspector Newcomen
A shrewd, eager Scotland Yard inspector who joins Utterson in the foggy streets of Soho to hunt a murderer.
About the story
In foggy Victorian London, the careful lawyer Mr. Utterson hears a disturbing story from his cousin: a small, repellent man named Edward Hyde trampled a child in the street and then paid for it with a cheque signed by one of the most respected names in the city. Utterson's worry grows when he remembers that his old friend, the well-liked Dr. Henry Jekyll, has made a strange will leaving everything to this same Mr. Hyde. As Utterson tries to learn who Hyde is and what hold he has over Jekyll, the mystery turns darker.
Stevenson wrote the novella quickly and published it in 1886. It moves between grand houses, a silent old laboratory, and the fog-bound back streets of Soho, and it is as much about reputation and secrecy as about crime. Its central questions are about the good and evil within one person, the price of keeping up respectable appearances, and what happens when a person tries to escape their own conscience.
The book was an immediate success and has never gone out of print. Its title became everyday shorthand for a split personality, and it helped shape later detective fiction, horror, and psychological fiction. It is short, suspenseful, and still unsettling.
This is a condensed picture-book retelling in 40 illustrated pages, with about 15 minutes of synthetic-voice narration and AI illustrations made for this edition. Stevenson's full original text is short, free to read in the public domain, and well worth reading too.
Adapted from The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886), public domain.
Questions
What is The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde about?
It is a Victorian mystery in which the lawyer Mr. Utterson looks into the link between his respected friend Dr. Jekyll and a violent, sinister man called Edward Hyde. Along the way it looks at the good and evil within human nature and the secrets people hide behind respectable lives.
Who is the main character?
Most of the story is seen through the eyes of Mr. Utterson, a quiet, loyal lawyer who keeps investigating out of concern for his friend. Dr. Henry Jekyll and the mysterious Mr. Hyde are at the centre of the mystery he tries to solve.
Is this edition suitable for children?
This edition is rated 13+. It includes a scene of a child being trampled, a brutal murder, and a generally dark, menacing mood, which may frighten younger children, though nothing is shown in graphic detail.
How long does this edition take?
It runs about 15 minutes of narration across 40 illustrated pages, so it can be enjoyed in one sitting.
Is this the full book?
No. It is a condensed retelling that keeps the main events and atmosphere of Stevenson's novella. The complete original is short, often read in an evening or two, and freely available in the public domain.
Read the text version: every page's caption, with its picture, on one page.
