The Victorian times comes into action as something sinister starts to ring the ears of the Victorian gentlemen Mr. Utterson, Mr. Enfield and Dr. Lanyon (oldest friend of Jekyll). The potion of ultimate horror is discovered by the inconsiderate yet perceptive doctor Henry Jekyll. The strange case arises as Henry Jekyll emanates the ‘child of hell’, Edward Hyde. The dwarfish young ‘really like Satan’ Hyde, summons terror around the city of London. What is to happen about this treacherous behavior…
DISCLAIMER – Contains Spoilers; continue if you wish!
Book – The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Author’s name – Robert Louis Stevenson
Genre – Mystery, Gothic Horror
Rating – 4.5/5
My first Impression
At a first glimpse at the book cover, my thoughts were held at an unstable position deciding weather it would be good or bad. The eventual result wasn’t good but exceedingly astounding. Although, this book was amazing it perplexed me but caught my nerves at an instance of time with the first paragraph. The excitement drilled up to my brain. Not just the beginning, every sentence had a deeper meaning which created tension in my stupendous mind.
About the book
The book is based on Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”. It is mostly to do with the idea of Victorian gentlemen and duality which is presented throughout the book. It was published on the 5th January 1886 during late Victorian times. The book is a Gothic horror novella and over 40,000 copies were sold in six months. The two main themes that are demonstrated in the book are Good vs Evil. It also gives you a sense of mystery and sights of extreme violence.
About the author
Robert Louis Stevenson was born on 13th November 1850 but unfortunately died on 3rd December 1894 at the age of 44. He was a Scottish poet, essayist and a travel writer. Other books written by him include ‘Treasure Island‘ and ‘Kidnapped‘. Many people praised his work. A person named Gilbert Keith Chesterton remarked to Stevenson that he, ‘seemed to pick the right word up on the point of his pen, like a man playing spillikins.’
Conclusion
One challenge in my opinion is the fact that the language used in the book is extremely puzzling and when I read it, I only understood it when read thoroughly with the help of context. I would recommend this book to people who would like to get the taste of mystery and dreadful scenes of utter violence. It is not a particularly good choice to hand this book to a person younger than 12, as the genres and themes include horror. In my opinion the whole book is a masterpiece but the wording and the language used will probably make you read the same sentence more than the usual. Enjoy reading the book and discover the strange case of Jekyll and Hyde…
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