Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

After wrapping up the never ending Dracula, I decided to read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The main reason was because it was included in the book I read containing Dracula (which also included Frankenstein - a favorite of mine) as part of a collection of three classic “horror” stories. A second reason was because at a very short 75 pages Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde could be kicked out in a few days. You probably know the gist of the story, which involves Dr. Jekyll and the experiments that turn him into Mr. Hyde. The latter is not really a monster, but rather an alternate identity for Dr. Jekyll, one who looks nothing like him, and one that lives the life of depravity that the good doctor suppresses as an upstanding citizen. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was a quick read and had some interesting observations on the nature of man. I wouldn’t say it’s worth going out of your way to read, but it’s also not bad (they probably won’t put that endorsement on the book jacket). In contrast to the 400 page Dracula, it was a lesson in editing down to the basic point of a story. Of the three classic tales, Frankenstein is still far and away my favorite. A job well done by Mary Shelley.

Next up: Reading The Picture of Dorian Gray and working on a Maltese Falcon review