Interestingly, Stevenson's original novel differs from the film versions in that it is actually structured as a collection of three distinct "testimonials". The first comes from Jekyll's lawyer, Mr. Utterson, who describes some mysterious "incidents" occurring in London. These brief episodes center around his friend Doctor Jekyll and a stranger named Hyde, who is apparently blackmailing Jekyll. The second testimonial comes from Jekyll's old laboratory partner, Lanyon, and describes an evening in which Lanyon is accosted by Mr. Hyde and soon witnesses a physical transformation which defies belief.
Finally, Jekyll's own testimony describes the true narrative underlying the entire sequence of events, and fills in the blanks left open by the two earlier reports. This three-stage "unveiling" is a fascinating way to present the Jekyll and Hyde "case". Unfortunately, because the reputation of the book pretty much always precedes the experience of reading the actual novel, the total effect is blunted. Nonetheless, it's a rich work and well worth reading.
Synopsis
- Story of the Door: While passing by a dark cellar door on a London street, a man named Enfield tells his friend Utterson about an earlier incident in which a smallish, strangely repulsive ("troglodytic") man named Hyde had trampled over a little girl near the door's entrance. Threatened by witnesses, Hyde had then written a check to the girl's parents in order to appease their anger. The check however, bears the signature of a well-respected man, Dr. Henry Jekyll. As Jekyll's lawyer, Utterson recognizes the door as the back entrance to Jekyll's laboratory and believes that Hyde must have forced Jekyll to sign the check under duress.
- Search For Mr. Hyde: As Jekyll's lawyer, Utterson also knows that Jekyll's will names Hyde as the financial benefactor upon Jekyll's death (or disappearance). He also learns that Jekyll's old scientific colleague Lanyon considers Jekyll to be out of control. Curious about Hyde's appearance, he waits by Jekyll's laboratory cellar door and finally meets the evasive man. Coming away with a troubled impression and suspecting Hyde of blackmailing Jekyll for favors, he resolves to help his doctor friend defeat his oppressor in some way.
- Dr. Jekyll Was Quite At Ease: Utterson visits Jekyll and tries to get to the bottom of Hyde's hold over his doctor friend. Jekyll reassures Utterson that he can handle Hyde and makes the lawyer promise that he will execute the contents of his will to the letter.
- The Carew Murder Case: One day, a maid witnesses Hyde murder an elderly gentleman named Carew, who had in his pocket a letter addressed to Utterson. When Utterson hears the news, he leads the police to Hyde's apartment. The room appears to be recently ransacked, and no signs of Hyde himself can be found.
- Incident of the Letter: When Utterson visits Jekyll, the doctor reassures him that he will have nothing more to do with Hyde, and also hands Utterson a letter written by Hyde absolving Jekyll of any crimes by association. Utterson brings this letter to his friend Mr. Guest in order to get some advice on the matter. During this visit a dinner invitation arrives from Jekyll, and Guest notices that the handwriting on Hyde's note matches that of Jekyll's letter. Utterson becomes alarmed when he realizes that Jekyll has forged the Hyde note.
- Incident of Dr. Lanyon: A couple months pass during which Jekyll exhibits a much more positive attitude, and even renews his friendship with Lanyon. However, one day Utterson finds that Jekyll has gone into seclusion and that Lanyon has broken off with Jekyll once again. Already ill, Lanyon soon dies, but leaves a mysterious letter with Utterson, to be read only upon Jekyll's death or disappearance.
- Incident At the Window: One day, Utterson and Enfield spot Jekyll sitting at his upper floor window. At first glad to see his friends, Jekyll suddenly falls into a terror and slams down the window.
- The Last Night: One night, Jekyll's butler summons Utterson to the house in a panic. He tells Utterson that the voice coming from Jekyll's laboratory is not Jekyll's own, and he suspects foul play. When they hear the voice of Hyde behind the door, they decide to break down the door. However, before they break through, Hyde consumes some kind of fatal chemical mixture and dies. In the lab, the men discover a letter from Jekyll, asking Utterson to first read Lanyon's final letter, and then to read Jekyll's own testimonial (attached).
- Dr. Lanyon's Narrative: In Lanyon's letter, he describes one day receiving a note from Jekyll, begging him to retrieve some potions from Jekyll's lab and then to return home - Lanyon complies. Later that night, he is visited by a stranger (Hyde). Hyde takes the potion obtained by Lanyon and transforms into Jekyll (to Lanyon's horror). Jekyll swears Lanyon to secrecy.
- Henry Jekyll's Full Statement of the Case:
- In Jekyll's last testimonial, he describes having always lived with a "dark side" to his personality, although this side only surfaces from time to time in the form of "undignified behaviors". He eventually develops a formula by which he believes he can separate the two sides and "dethrone" one of them. After he drinks the solution, he physically and mentally transforms into a small, repugnant version of himself, exhibiting all of his darker nature and none of the good. Using a second formula, he is able to return to his normal state.
- In the ensuing weeks, Jekyll uses the formula to engage in sordid nightly outings as "Edward Hyde", leaving Jekyll safe from prosecution in the morning. However, one night he goes to bed as Jekyll, but wakes as Hyde. Jekyll is horrified to realize that this "unprovoked" transformation can only mean that Jekyll is becoming more dominant within his psyche.
- For the next two months, Jekyll refrains from the Hyde formula, but one night succumbs to temptation. Having been bottled up for so long, Hyde emerges with gusto, and ends up murdering of Carew. After destroying Hyde's apartment, Jekyll resolves to never again become Hyde.
- A few weeks later Jekyll spontaneously transforms into Hyde in broad daylight. Fearing arrest for the murder of Carew, Hyde surreptitiously has Lanyon retrieve his potions so that he can return to his Jekyll form.
- In the following days Jekyll hides in his lab, constantly fighting back transformations into Hyde. When Hyde does manage to emerge, he remains in the lab for fear of being discovered and arrested. Eventually, Jekyll runs out of chemicals for his reversal solution and realizes that he will soon become Hyde forever. In his last hour as "himself", he writes out his testimony to Utterson. He also believes that Hyde will take his own life before allowing himself to be captured (and executed for the murder of Carew).
An online version can be read here.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was also published in 1901 with a collection of shorts previously appearing in the book Fables:
- “The Persons of the Tale”
- “The Devil and the Innkeeper”
- “The Penitent”
- “The Yellow Paint”
- “The House of Eld”
- “The Four Reformers”
- “The Man and His Friend”
- “The Reader”
- “The Citizen and the Traveller”
- “The Distinguished Stranger”
- “The Cart-horses and the Saddle-horse”
- “The Tadpole and the Frog”
- “Something in It”
- “Faith, Half-faith and No Faith At All”
- “The Touchstone”
- “The Poor Thing”
- “The Song of the Morrow”
An online version can be read here. Summaries of these shorts can be read here.
Due to its brief length, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is frequently published in Stevenson anthology collections. One modern collection is 2012's The Collected Supernatural and Weird Fiction of Robert Louis Stevenson, which includes these stories:
- "Olalla" (1885)
- "The Beach of Falesá" (1892)
- "The Body Snatcher" (1884)
- "The Isle of Voices" (1893)
- "The Poor Thing" (1895, from Fables)
- "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1896)
- "The Waif Woman" (1914)
- "Thrawn Janet" (1881)
- “The Beach of Falesa” (1892)
- “The Bottle Imp” (1891)
- “The Isle of Voices” (1893)
- “The Merry Men” (1882)
- “Will o’the Mill” (1878)
- “Markheim” (1885)
- “Thrawn Janet” (1881)
- “Olalla” (1885)
- “The Treasure of Franchard” (1883)
Summaries of the shorts included in these books can be found through the above linked titles.
