The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories (Collectible Editions) by Robert Louis Stevenson
Product Details
Web ID: 14421864Uncharted Waters
At the time of publication, THE STRANGE CASE OF DR.JEKYLL AND MR HYDE received instant acclaim by breaching the topic of split personalities, a subject unfamiliar to most of the population at the time. He plays with themes of human duality - good and bad residing in the same person - and the temptation to feed them both. For some time Robert Louis Stevenson had been toying with the idea for a story, and in 1886 struck gold with the publication of JEKYLL AND HYDE. It took the English-speaking world by storm, and forever embodied it's title characters in Western vernacular. When pressed upon its origins, Stevenson put it thus: I had long been trying to write a story on this subject, to find a body, a vehicle for that strong sense of man's double being which must at times come in and overwhelm the mind of every thinking creature. Since publication the story's central theme has enjoyed such popularity and is recounted in so many books and films it's practically an industry unto itself. JEKYLL AND HYDE follows Dr. Jekyll, a Victorian England chemist, in his pursuits of his devil within by concocting a tincture that brings his dark side to the forefront in the form of Mr. Hyde; a side as physically different from Jekyll as it is spiritually. It's all fun and games for Jekyll to embrace his darkest compulsions in the form of Hyde. However, Hyde has no compulsion for Jekyll's civilized lifestyle which ultimately proves problematic. The genie, unleashed, becomes impossible to put back in the bottle. Be Careful What You Wish For As with other stories in this volume, a main theme of JEKYLL AND HYDE is that wishes are double-edged swords. What began as a harmless way to feed the Doctor's dark compulsions leads to criminal behavior, ultimately ending in murder. Jekyll finds he can't control Hyde, and so takes the fatal step of physically killing him, thus ending his own life as well. Similar in theme is Stevenson's THE BOTTLE IMP, in which the main protagonist relies on a genie-like creature for his happiness, but is ultimately cursed by the magic, and the main character in WILL O' the MILL finds his double-edged sword within his own fierce independence. In THE BODY SNATCHER, it's ambition which cuts both ways. This book provides a great introduction to Stevenson. Paperback.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Good book
Ordered this book a few days ago and received it yesterday. I can't wait to read it but it seems like the pricing is wrong. I was charged as it says on the website ($15) however, on the book itself it only says $10.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great read
The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde is a captivating story by Robert Louis The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde is a captivating story by Robert Louis Stevenson. It has a thrilling plot twist that will surprise you at the end! This story makes one think about the different parts of our own personalities and how if we give into temptation, we may lose the core of our humanity.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
All Right All Right I Hear You About the Cover
Felt compelled to add a positive review because everyone was talking about the cover. I do own this book. I bought it months ago in store so I knew about the cover material. Maybe that's not ideal but as a general rule the beautiful leatherbounded covers seem pretty exclusive to B&N collectibles between 20 to 25 dollars. If you see a classic book title on B&N followed by "...and Other Stories" that's about $10, you're probably getting something more like this. But the written material of this book is the same kind of anthology as those $25 leatherbounded anthologies with the gorgeous guilded pages that make you feel good by just lookin at em. It doesn't look like one but it's a shorter anthology of Robert Louis Stevenson's best works and more. With B&N anthologies I tend to buy one, pick at it for short stories every so often, and get around to reading novels/novellas within them whenever I please. This is a nice equivalent of those that doesn't take up as much room on my bookshelf. If you really don't like the cover, I'll say go without buying this. If you just want Jekyll and Hyde then you can buy the B&N Classics paperback of it as opposed to a book that has "and Other Stories" attached at the end. Most of these other stories are short stories - Treasure Island is not included. I enjoy the book in my collection. Take this all as you will.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com