A word of explanation . . .
Why am I writing a review of Robert Lewis Stevenson’s 1886 “Shilling Shocker,” The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?
Because it’s a clue.
Stevenson’s novelette appears in my work-in-progress novel, Marley’s Curse – A Dickens Station Treasure Hunt Mystery, as an artifact left behind by the missing Edmond Dickens, keeper of the secret to Merritt’s Treasure. Be sure to look for the “well-read copy of The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” in Marley’s Curse when it is published. And read to the end of this review where I have an Easter egg for you.
A “shilling shocker” sold for one shilling in the U.K. and a penny in the U.S.
The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
I read Stevenson’s classic as research, though I thought I knew the story. Dr. Jekyll drank a potion and became someone else, Mr. Hyde, right? My synopsis proved far too simplistic for a work that touches on many themes, like man’s dual nature, Victorian public vs. private persona, and addiction.
The story is told from the point of view of Dr. Jekyll’s attorney, Gabriel Utterson. How the story would have changed had Stevenson told the tale from the point of view of Dr. Jekyll. Nevertheless, Utterson becomes engaged in the plot when his cousin, Richard Enfield, recounts the Story of the Door, reliving a terrifying evening when the latter witnessed an act of inhumanity by the singular Mr. Hyde.
I shall not summarize the entire book to avoid spoiling my readers’ enjoyment. Suffice it to say that the plot revolves around an experiment gone horribly wrong beyond the control of its master. I raise the Story of the Door only to relate to you that Stevenson’s wife implored the author to rewrite portions of his first draft, based upon the author’s recurring dream, because she found it too gruesome. No doubt the Story of the Door was one of those passages.
What I found to be the most intriguing nuance of this classic tale crept up on me slowly, throughout the read. The description of Mr. Hyde by Enfield and later repeated by Utterson piqued my interest.
“Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation.”
Both Enfield and Utterson described Hyde as giving the impression of deformity, yet with no discernable malformation. It seemed almost as if Hyde’s deplorable nature twisted Jekyll’s features to the point of being unrecognizable.
In Stevenson’s words, the potion did not change Jekyll into Hyde. It “dethroned . . . certain of the powers that made up [Dr. Jekyll’s] spirit and substituted . . . a second form and countenance . . . none the less natural to [Jekyll] because they were the expression and bore the stamp of lower elements in [his] soul.” It was those lower elements of Dr. Jekyll’s soul, having been released by the potion, that deformed him into the unrecognizable Mr. Hyde.
I recommend reading this story if you have not already. But not alone and certainly not on a dark and stormy night.
About the Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, and essayist. He suffered from tuberculosis most of his life and still managed to travel and write about his adventures. He wrote prolifically, including what would become one of the most beloved collections of children’s poetry in the English language, A Child’s Garden of Verses. Stevenson is also the author of such classics as Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
An Easter egg for you . . .
And now, for the Easter egg I promised. In my novel, Marley’s Curse, Jacob Marley picks up Edmond Dickens’s copy of Stevenson’s book and observes, “Its publication date, having been hand-corrected from 1885 to 1886, telegraphed it as a first edition.” The corrected date refers to the fact that the U.K. version of the book was supposed to be published in late 1885. Publication was delayed until January 1886, but the cover pages had already been printed. The publisher hand-corrected and used them. So, it is not uncommon to find a British first edition of The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with the “5” in the publication date inked over with a “6.”
Happy Reading!
