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    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
    Audiobook2 hours

    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

    Written by Robert Louis Stevenson

    Narrated by David Thorn

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Robert Louis Stevenson's brilliant story is a chilling mystery exploring the complexity of human nature, the combination of good and evil in everyone.

    Dr. Henry Jekyll is good man, a hardworking scientist who is causing his friends great worry about his relationship with Edward Hyde, a violent, disagreeable man, who is in constant trouble. An innocent man is murdered, and Mr. Hyde is the only suspect.

    How is Mr.Jekyll intimately involved in this death? How this mystery unravels has held fans spellbound for more than 150 years.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAlcazar Audio Works
    Release dateJan 1, 2006
    ISBN9780978755317
    Author

    Robert Louis Stevenson

    Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson was born on 13 November 1850, changing his second name to ‘Louis’ at the age of eighteen. He has always been loved and admired by countless readers and critics for ‘the excitement, the fierce joy, the delight in strangeness, the pleasure in deep and dark adventures’ found in his classic stories and, without doubt, he created some of the most horribly unforgettable characters in literature and, above all, Mr. Edward Hyde.

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    Reviews for The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      First off I would like to mention that this was my first reread ever! I first read The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde quite a few years ago, but I totally forgot the ending and that bothered me. I reread this back in October for the 24 hour read-a-thon but I just now got to putting my review together. There is not much I can say about this book which you don't already know, so I will keep the summary short.Dr Jekyll has been successful in making a potion which allows him to alter his appearance, and thus Mr Hyde is born. When Dr Jekyll drinks the potion, his personality is changed completely and he can let out his evil side in the name of Mr Hyde, someone that nobody knows. Everything was fine as long as he could go back to being Dr Jekyll at his demand, but things turn sour when the evil side starts to take over, until one day he can no longer transform himself back to Dr Jekyll.Since today the story of Dr Jekyll and My Hyde is known all too well, it is hard to be shocked by the horror of the story and you probably won't be surprised by the ending. Compared to what we know as horror fiction today, this does not even come close, it is too short to portray the true evilness of the villain and it is not graphic at all. However thinking about the concept of the plot, I can't help but think how horrifying it still is, and that after reading it a second time. When I read this book I was surprised considering the time when it was written, it was the same reaction I had when I read Dracula by Bram Stoker.This is the classic good versus evil, the other side of the human being.If you have never read this book because you know the story from the various adaptations that were made of it, I suggest you pick this one up and read the true classic. It is short and won't take up much of your time, I say it's worth it. I think this holds true for most classics, we know the basics of the plot because we've heard so much about them, and there are countless adaptations for them, but when I finally get to reading them I always feel that there is nothing like reading the original story!
    • 5/5
      This book would have shocked me more if only I didn't know what the real mystery was. But Stevenson's novella (I actually think it's more like a short story) is such a masterpiece that it's inevitably being referred to a lot of times. In my case I first heard of it through Van Helsing, and I was really fascinated by the thought of having dual identities. I even went so far as to name my two sim cards (my phone's dual-sim) after Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. #deadserious

      So now, at least I know what the story behind the two famous characters really is. It sounded more like a mandatory thing to me, reading this book. (Though I hoped it wasn't! If only I read this before getting wind of the cultural references) :)
    • 2/5
      I do like to read classic gothic terror and I was sadly disapointed on this one, for two reasons:1.- The fact that Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde are the same person is meant to be a surprise and the main attraction of the book. This surprise (through no fault of the author) has been absolutely lost. Still, you could get over that if it wasn't for fault number 2.2.- It just hasn't aged well. Evil = Ugliness, does anyone believe that anymore? You could argue the same thing for the portrait of Dorian Gray, but there, it is clear that it is the ugliness of the soul, not physical ugliness, that is being pointed out. It just seems like a childish concept.
    • 4/5
      A very good audio Oct reread ...."split personality"....."dissociative identity disorder" ...psychological thriller
    • 3/5
      The story has a good premise but it isn't really realized, possibly due to the irregular format. The book doesn't read like a typical novel. Instead it is broken into several small, greatly overlapping parts each narrating the course of events as they were percieved by a character. The first section is told by the lawyer Utterson, who suspects his friend the doctor is being blackmailed by Mr. Hyde, then the reader is presented with the account of Dr. Lawson to whom Mr. Hyde's identity is revealed near the end of the events of the story and finally you get the story according to Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Hyde is of course uninterested in recording his experiences.The problem is that though the idea of building a complete narrative from various points of view is a good one in this case its done rather sloppily. The accounts are more repetitive than complementary and it isn't until the last one that the idea of the duality of man is introduced in a last minute hamfisted sort of way. It reminds me of the last chapter of Brave New World where Huxley decided to spell out what his book was all about as if it wasn't already obvious to the most disinterested of readers. The only difference is Huxley didn't need that chapter to explain his intent, where as the ideas Stevenson invoked weren't at all hinted at in the rest of his book. I've heard this book was written very quickly and surmise that it's parts are akin to the scraps of writing a writer produces in the early stages of writing to flesh out their thoughts and possibly rework to actually use in the story. But Stevenson never got any further in developing his novel he just strung together the bits of writing he whipped out and called it a novella. It a real shame since it's a good story and even with the horribly bad structure and organization you can tell that Stevenson knew how to put words on the page, even if he didn't bothered to put his words to unified purpose. The edition I read also included the short stories "The Body Snatcher", "Markheim" and "The Bottle Imp". These also had a tendency to ramble on longer than necessary. Perhaps he was paid by the inch? However they were better told and were fairly sophisticated horror stories with interesting premises. Markheim in particular is the sort of story that would be an interesting piece to analyze for a literature class. It touches on similar themes to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but is exponentially better at communicating them.
    • 4/5
      It was great to finally read the original story and it certainly lived up to the hype. I found the book on a free books website (originally sourced from Project Gutenberg and reformatted for the Kindle). The story is fast paced and mysterious and well written. I enjoyed using the dictionary on my Kindle for this read as there were many words that are not commonly used today. The psychological aspects of the book regarding the different 'selves' - both good and bad - were both entertaining and frightening.
    • 4/5
      Along with FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA, this short novel makes up the holy triumvirate of early horror. It asks the question: What is the nature of man's soul? The answer is that we all have a dark side, a side without a conscience, that lives only for its own pleasure without regard for anyone else. This is the Mr. Hyde that emerges when Jekyll drinks his magic potion, and he repulses everyone he meets. As Jekyll discovers, if we give free reign to the Hyde imprisoned within us, he grows stronger and asserts himself more and more, until he threatens to take over entirely. Despite being afflicted by the usual Victorian floridness of language (some skimming required), DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE is a highly readable, if rather circuitous, story. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the evolution of the horror genre.
    • 5/5
      It is said that Robert Louis Stevenson revised A Child's Garden of Verses and wrote Kidnapped and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in a time span of under two years--if only all of us could be so productive! This is a very short book and can easily be read in a few hours, so I encourage you to read it if you have not. I was very surprised I waited this long myself.It tells the story of how Dr. Jekyll conducted an experiment to separate the evil and the good in his personality. Mr. Hyde was the result of his evil side coming out. Dr. Jekyll's appearance was so altered that he was unrecognizable--both in appearance and actions. What was very interesting to me was that the experiment was done not just for "scientific research", but because Dr. Jekyll admitted to actually enjoying his more sinful side. He wanted to separate the two personalities, in other words, so he could participate in the evil activities while still considering his "real self" to be essentially good. Of course he eventually loses control of the experiment with disastrous results. This simple tale teaches us the true nature of good and evil and our propensity to desire sin. It should be read by all!
    • 2/5
      The idea I had in my head about this story was better than the actual book. I was a little disappointed.
    • 5/5
      "He was wild when he was young; a long while ago to be sure; but in the law of God there is no statute of limitations." - Utterson, Esq.The best thing about old books is the detail in the writing. It makes more obvious the complacency of mind found in the generation of television and wifi.Henry Jekyll recognized that man has two persons living inside them - both good and evil. He was bored with being the "good doctor" and wanted to indulge in mischief without being held accountable for his actions, so he freed his murderous, unscrupulous self in the form of Edward Hyde. At first, had it not been for his evil other's indifference toward him, Jekyll would have been tempted to remain the depraved Mr. Hyde, but eventually they came to resent one another and Hyde became Jekyll's ruin as happens when one chooses their evil self.I'm glad I read this book. I was expecting Mr. Hyde to be as big and ugly as he is in movies, but he was actually a petite man who had an appetite for very bad coupled with a malevolent countenance and a look of deformity that no one could put their finger on.Goodread!
    • 3/5
      A short Novella that digs into the Psychology of the angelic man, made before the fall; and the dirty creatures, that lies in all humans. The psychology developed and explained here is great. If you are looking for a long read, this will not suffice.
    • 4/5
      The famous and classic story about a doctor who has discovered the way to divide the good and evil natures of himself into two different persons.My first surprise was how short this story is. My second was that we never actually meet Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde, except in passing. My third was that I have no greater understanding of how to interpret the book now than I did before, and perhaps even less. I'm glad I've read it at last. It is, as I said, short. The language, while stilted, isn't that difficult. It is thought provoking - the whole issue of the natures of good and evil and which is dominate in man - but maybe not as provocative now as it was when first published in 1886. I think its greatest value now is as a cultural icon, rather than a great story. But that is still terribly important.
    • 3/5
      Other reviews have dwelt on themes of duality etc and others still correctly state that the impact of this book is lessened by how much of its plot is already in the collective consciousness of readers. You know before reading it that Jekyll and Hyde are the same person, it has entered our language. Never having read the book before, the thing I was most struck with was its apparent concern with drug addiction. The negative effects of drugs and the associated shame and secrecy.

      “and at last, in an hour of moral weakness, I once again compounded and swallowed the transforming draught.”

      “It took on this occasion a double dose to recall me to myself; and alas! six hours after, as I sat looking sadly in the fire, the pangs returned, and the drug had to be re-administered.”

      “Many a man would have even blazoned such irregularities as I was guilty of; but from the high views that I had set before me, I regarded and hid them with an almost morbid sense of shame.”

      A quick google reveals that he wrote Jekyll and Hyde during a six day cocaine binge and spent much of his later, short life, hooked on opium, alcohol and morphine. This was possibly for well intentioned medicinal reasons as he was not a well man. Nevertheless, this leaves me thinking this is a much darker, personal book than perhaps is generally believed.





    • 4/5
      Glimrende koncept. Henry Jekyll eksperimenterer med et medikament som skal hjælpe ham til at skille sin gode fra sin onde side. Det lykkes kun alt for godt. Han bliver til en ond person, Mr. Hyde, og finder for sent ud af at de kemikalier han bruger i starten indeholder et eller andet stof, som ikke findes i senere leverancer. Til sidst kan han ikke længere blive til Dr. Jekyll.En klassiker
    • 3/5
      The whole Jekyll/Hyde story is so famous as to be almost a cliche, so you can imagine my surprise when the original novella was much different than I'd expected. For example, it's told from the point of view of Jekyll's lawyer as he tries to puzzle out who this Hyde fellow is who so suddenly showed up as sole inheritor in Jekyll's will. All in all it was a touch dry. Not a bad tale, but I think subsequent adaptations have improved on it. Quite simply, the story is far more gripping when told from Jekyll's point of view. I may however have felt differently had I not known the big secret of Hyde's identity.
    • 5/5
      Of course, everyone knows the relationship between Jekyll and Hyde, but if you haven’t read the novel, you probably are missing the intention of Stevenson’s story. Jekyll wanted to free mankind from his evil, baser nature, but in the end, was doomed by it. This novel is a brilliant study in the dual nature of man, and the conclusion must be that when it is tampered with, at least in this case, evil wins. If we assume that Hyde was pure evil, is it safe to assume that Jekyll was all good? But if he were, would he have concocted the formula that split him into two unique beings? Ultimately, Jekyll could only overcome Hyde’s tendencies when he was one whole being. The concept and story remain fascinating even now, more than a century after it was penned.
    • 5/5
      I wasn't sure what to really expect with this one. Yes, it's a classic that "everyone knows about," but I didn't really know what it was about going into reading it. I knew there was a Doctor who turns himself into Mr. Hyde (pure evil). I didn't really know the specifics or anything about other characters or story line in general.

      I have a somewhat ignorance with a good amount of classic books. I know them, I know enough to want to read them, but I don't peruse them further until I read them. This helps give me a fresh reaction to the story.

      So my reaction to this story was great overall. Like many classics I actually listened to the audiobook version (librivox.org is GREAT for this and my budget) because it helps me read them at a good pace and makes it easier for me to pay attention. I just can't read some of the writing sometimes no matter how beautiful. Ok, back to the review, haha. It was a great story with a mystery and a great moral dilemma about good and evil. I won't really get into much more though. I know it's short and I'm not saying really anything at all. But I really like Stevenson's writing and the horror added into the mystery of what's going on. I've read Treasure Island only from him, so this is number 2 I've read. I'll have to now go and read more of him since I'm enjoying it.
    • 3/5
      A very creepy story. I didn't know what to expect with this book when I first read it. Everyone knows the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde concept but reading it was different. It wasn't what I expected and I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing. Either way I thought it was an interesting, eerie novel and worth reading at least once. Give it a go.
    • 4/5
      Pop culture had long ago given me the gist of this story but reading the original classic was an entirely different experience. A very well-paced and well-written piece of horror fiction. I especially enjoyed that the viewpoint comes from a third-party - Doctor Jekyll's lawyer - who is sleuthing around trying to get to the bottom of this 'Mr. Hyde' business. What he discovers will haunt him for the rest of his life.
    • 4/5
      Strangely affecting, considering that obviously I (like everyone else, pretty much) started it already knowing the "secret" at its core. Even though I knew Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde would ultimately turn out to be the same man, the story kept me turning pages, in equal parts horrified and fascinated to find out the details of the transformation. A masterwork of suspense.It's weird how there are no women, really, in the whole story. Were there really so many bachelors wandering around London during this era, and did anyone comment on it, or is this just an artifact of fiction?
    • 4/5
      The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is a novella that was first published in 1886. This story has captured the attention of many generations and has a lasting quality that has kept it and, it’s many versions, in the forefront of the literary world.The author tells his chilling story with the use of both descriptive and powerful language. Two of it’s main themes are the classic “good versus evil” story line as we read of Dr. Jekyll’s struggles to keep his “bad side”, Mr. Hyde, under control. The other theme that comes immediately to mind is the familiar one of science going too far. Although this seems a rather mild story by today’s standards, it’s simplicity reveals a timeless classic of murder and monsters on the streets of Victorian London.The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is very much a Victorian product showing man’s quest for keeping his animal nature suppressed and only showing the world the world a stiff, tightly controlled facade. Part of the significance of this story is that it can be interpreted in different ways. Is the author showing a split personality, the effect of mental illness, or is this a commentary on the rules of Victorian society? However one looks at it, this is a brilliant story about mind and body separation.
    • 5/5
      I wish people still wrote this way. Or at least, still wrote this way WELL.Just the first sentence is great. Stevenson really has a great way of describing people, both physically and characteristically.One of the most interesting things about this story is all the possibilities and underlying meanings you can get from it. The way Jekyll refers to both of his personalities in third person, his underlying thirst for and pleasure in evil, his addiction to Hyde, etc. It's actually pretty dark, and I'm sure we can all agree that Jekyll is a bit on the crazy side.But there's definitely a reason that Jekyll and Hyde have become household names and inspiration to countless stories and characters.
    • 3/5
      I love the story. However, since nearly 98% of the population is familiar with this story, it is kind of a drag to read this since you know how everything unfolds. I also didn't find the way in which the story was told very captivating. It is such a thin book, and I had a terrible time getting through it. I actually skipped parts in this book because they were so dreadfully boring.
    • 5/5
      Another spectacular book by Robert Louis Stevenson. His writing enthralls me! It's so easy to find yourself held spellbound by his description of settings and characters and mood, painting such a clear picture of every aspect of the story that you can't help but shudder as if experiencing the horrors in person. One of my favorite written descriptions sets a clear image of the early-morning, fog-laden streets of London and the eeriness accompanying the pursuit of a murderer.

      "It was by this time about nine in the morning, and the first fog of the season. A great chocolate-coloured pall lowered over heaven, but the wind was continually charging and routing these embattled vapours; so that as the cab crawled from street to street, Mr. Utterson beheld a marvelous number of degrees and hues of twilight; for here it would be dark like the back-end of evening; and there would be a glow of rich, lurid brown, like the light of some strange conflagaration; and here, for a moment, the fog would be quite broken up, and a haggard shaft of daylight would glance in between the swirling wreaths. The dismal quarter of Soho seen under these changing glimpses, with its muddy ways, and slatternly passengers, and its lamps, which had never been extinguished or had been kindled afresh to combat this mournful reinvasion of darkness, seemed, in the lawyer's eyes, like a district of some city in a nightmare."

      And this...perfect words to describe the awful demon that was Mr. Edward Hyde.

      "Is it the mere radiance of a foul soul that thus transpires through, and transfigures, its clay continent? ....O my poor old Harry Jekyll, if ever I read Satan's signature upon a face, it is on that of your new friend.(Edward Hyde)"

      I enjoyed this tale; a dark glimpse into the struggles of every man, resisting or succumbing to vile temptations. This was a short story, but an intense read.
    • 3/5
      I read this using my Serial reader app and I was really happy with it!

      I knew it was a classic, and, much like classics, it was a book that I'd always meant to read, or intended to read but never actually read.

      I loved the atmosphere that Stevenson created. His somehow empty, foggy, cacophonous London was brought to life. I didn't find the language too hard or difficult to follow at all, which surprised me. I liked the tension for the majority of the novel -- Stevenson crafted tension through letters, confessionals and those late-night walks around London where all sorts of horrors happen.

      I didn't care too much for the characters, but I definitely admired the author's writing, his language and how accessible the book is after all this time.

      Even though I knew the ending, I still found it readable and hope you do too. c:
    • 4/5
      Short and sweet and pretty interesting. Not a bad read.
    • 5/5
      I liked this book a lot. It's a short book but it still has lots of mystery and exciting parts within it. It's about a man named Mr. Utterson who tries to learn about the mysterious Mr. Hyde who is Dr. Jekyll's evil side.In the book, the setting is based in England. Dr. Jekyll finds a way to make a compound that allows him to transform into a separate personality, Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde is a younger and pure evil being. I personally like Mr. Hyde's name a lot. His name sounds like the word "hide" and Mr. Hyde's personality reflects his name. He tries to be discreet and tries to not talk to anyone unless he has to. Throughout the book, Mr. Utterson tries to learn about this mysterious Mr. Hyde. Almost nobody knows about him. Finally, after many mysterious encounters with Dr. Jekyll and one murder, he learns who Mr. Hyde truly is when he reads a letter that was left for him. I also liked this book a lot because the story isn't just told from the point of view of one person. It's mainly told from the point of view from one person, but it's also told from the point of view of two other people.This book is very good! It makes you feel multiple emotions as you read it. It makes you excited, scared, surprised, and curious. I would recommend it to many people.
    • 3/5
      I thought this was an interesting short read. Its not the story i was expecting to read. Mr. Hyde was not a hulk type monster, but really a split personality containing the pure and sinful nature inside of each and every one of us. Two and a half stars.
    • 3/5
      Everyone knows the story, which makes the book a little hard to categorize. Thought of as horror, it is more of a Victorian mystery - complete with the immense amount of talking common to Sherlock Holmes.
    • 2/5
      With a classic name in literature, one should read this story of duality sans the preconception of it; otherwise, this will kind of seem boring due to the myriad of other stories akin to the theme. While I am quick to admit that a general audience of today will have a hard time finishing this novel due to the lack of today's immediacy, I will too admit that I did not enjoy this novel as much as any other story of good versus evil. I appreciated that it came out in its time; however, I personally look for something more, something beyond good and evil, something beyond duality. The story overall didn't do me much service, neither: I felt that everything hung on Dr. Jekyll's account at the end of the novel, which gave a great insight on the struggle between two moral magnets. However, to read a story as something witnessed, then something explained, can either resonate well with me or not. The witnessing of madness in this novel left much to be desired, at least on my account.A great read if you're starting on the duality of man.