The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Norton Critical Editions) [Paperback]

Robert Louis Stevenson (Author), Katherine B. Linehan (Editor), Katherine Linehan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Norton Critical Editions | Publication Date: November 2002

This Norton Critical Edition of Stevenson's enduringly popular and chilling tale is based on the 1886 First British Edition, the only edition set directly from Stevenson's manuscript and for which he read proofs. The text has been rigorously annotated for student readers and is accompanied by a textual appendix.

"Backgrounds and Contexts" includes a wealth of materials on the tale's publication history as well as its relevance to Victorian culture. Twelve of Stevenson's letters from the years 1885-87 are excerpted, along with his essay "A Chapter on Dreams," in which he comments on the plot's origin. Ten contemporary responses--including those by Julia Wedgwood, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Henry James--illustrate Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde's initial reception. Stevenson's 1885 tale "Markheim," a precursor to Jekyll and Hyde and a window onto the Victorian sensation market, is reprinted in its entirety in this Norton Critical Edition. Karl Miller, Jenni Calder, and Judith Halberstam discuss literary genres central to Jekyll and Hyde. Four scientific essays--including one by Stephen Jay Gould--elucidate Victorian conceptions of atavism, multiple-personality disorder, narcotics addiction, and sexual aberration. Judith R. Walkowitz and Walter Houghton consider the implications of Victorian moral conformity and political disunity for society at large.

"Performance Adaptations" addresses--in writings by C. Alex Pinkston, Jr., Charles King, and Scott Allen Nollen--the many ways in which Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has been dramatized over more than a century and explores its status as a perpetually effective vehicle for changing psychological and social concerns. A checklist of major performance adaptions is provided, along with a sampler of publicity photos.

"Criticism" includes essays by G. K. Chesterton, Vladimir Nabokov, Peter K. Garrett, Patrick Brantlinger, and Katherine Linehan that center on the tale's major themes of morality, allegory, and self-alienation.

A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Scots writer Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) is the author of Treasure Island, A Child's Garden of Verses, Kidnapped, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and other great classics.

Katherine B. Linehan is Professor of English at Oberlin College. She is the author of articles on Robert Louis Stevenson, George Gissing, and George Eliot.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (November 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393974650
• ISBN-13: 978-0393974652
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,610 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some Points to Consider, November 2, 2004

By 

Charles King (U. of Nebraska at Omaha) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

Since I am a contributor to this volume, I will not offer a "review" in a conventional sense, but I will offer a list of contents, which this website otherwise does not offer. As there are a number of competing paperback editions of Stevenson's novella and the text of the story is essentially the same (allowing for minor editorial variants), readers should consider the issue of what else besides the main text they will be getting for their money, and this edition is unusually rich in supplementary features, so that the original story makes up only 55 of its 222 pages.

In addition to the text of Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," with explanatory notes by the editor, this volume also contains:

A preface by the editor, a "textual appendix" about textual variants in the manuscripts, a map of 19th century London marking places mentioned in the story, a timeline of the major events in the life of author Robert Louis Stevenson, and a bibliography. Plus...

An excerpt from a biography about Stevenson by Graham Balfour about the circumstances of the story's authorship...

A brief excerpt from Stevenson's "A Chapter on Dreams," which discusses the influence of his dreams on the story...

12 letters by Stevenson that discuss aspects of the "Dr. Jekyll" story...

10 contemporary reviews and comments about "Dr. Jekyll" that show how the story was originally received...

Another horror-oriented short story by Stevenson entitled "Markheim"...

A brief non-fiction piece by Stevenson, "How I Came to be such a student of our Penny Press," together with some examples of 19th century book advertising...

Three essays about the literary context of "Dr. Jekyll": Karl Miller, "The Modern Double": Jenni Calder, "Stevenson's Scottish Devil Tales"; and Judith Halberstam, "An Introduction to Gothic Monstrosity"...

Four essays about the scientific context of Stevenson's story: Stephen Jay Gould, "Post-Darwinist Theories of the Ape Within"; Frederic W. H. Myers, "Multiple Personality"; Norman Kerr, "Abject Slaves to the Narcotic"; John Addington Symonds, "This Aberrant Inclination in Myself"...

Two essays about the socio-historical context of Stevenson's story: Judith R. Walkowitz, "London in the 1880s"; and Walter Houghton, "Hypocrisy"...

Three essays and a filmography about theatrical and film adaptations of "Dr. Jekyll": C. Alex Pinkston, Jr., "The Stage Premiere of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"; Charles King, "Themes and Variations" (about film); Scott Allen Nollen, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Paramount, 1931)"; and Katherine Linehan, "A Checklist of Major Performance Adaptations"...

And five additional critical essays: G. K. Chesterton, "The Real Stab of the Story"; Vladimir Nabokov, "The Phenomenon of Style"; Peter K. Garrett, "Instabilities of Meaning, Morality, and Narration"; Patrick Brantlinger, "An Unconscious Allegory about the Masses and Mass Literacy"; and Katherine Linehan, "Sex, Secrecy and Self-Alienation in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde".

For sheer range of commentary, I do not think that you could point to a comparable volume.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine edition for scholars, students and the general reader, January 22, 2003

By 

Titmarsh (OHIO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

This is another first-rate critical edition from Norton. The text is cleanly printed with careful and accurate annotations. Both the critical and the backgrounds and contexts essays are well chosen. Sections on performance adaptations on stage and screen and on literary, scientific and sociohistorical contexts are particularly useful.One of the best critical essays is the editor's own. A detailed Stevenson chronology and an accurate selected bibliography conclude the volume.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Edition for a Wonderful Book, January 2, 2012

By 

Man of La Book (NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Steven­son is a novella writ­ten by the Scot­tish born author. The 1886 work is con­sid­ered a clas­sic of British literature.

Pros­e­cu­tor Gabriel John Utter­son has taken cer­tain inter­est in Mr. Edward Hyde even since he tram­pled a lit­tle girl. The crowd gath­ered forced Mr. Hyde to make ret­ri­bu­tion, how­ever the check he gave the girl was signed by Dr. Henry Jekyll.

Mr. Utter­son also dis­cov­ers that Mr. Hyde is the sole ben­e­fi­ciary of all of Dr. Jekyll's wealth. Utter­son tries to dis­cuss the mat­ter of Mr. Hyde with the good doc­tor which, as one might guess, doesn't yield any results.

A year later a mem­ber of the British Par­lia­ment is mur­dered and the maid iden­ti­fies Mr. Hyde. Utter­son con­fronts Dr. Jekyll who shows the lawyer a let­ter in which Mr. Hyde states that he is will dis­ap­pear forever.

Some­time later, sus­pect­ing foul play Utter­son breaks into Dr. Jekyll's house where they dis­cover Mr. Hyde who has just com­mit­ted sui­cide by drink­ing poi­son. Through let­ters Utter­son pieces together Dr. Jekyll's dou­ble life.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Steven­son is a well known novella which deals with split per­son­al­ity.

I found it inter­est­ing that the book has only two set­tings, let­ters and lab­o­ra­tory. Not the clean, ster­ile lab­o­ra­tory we imag­ine, but a dis­gust­ing, dirty and bloody one which implores the reader to feel the Gothic hor­ror which the author wishes to con­vey. In this envi­ron­ment is where Mis­ter Hyde is cre­ated, a trou­bled fig­ure, mean and unabated.

Mis­ter Hyde is what Dr. Jekyll wants to be but sup­presses within him­self. Hyde yearns for vio­lence and sex­u­al­ity, he is full of strength, uncar­ing and out of con­trol - or is he actu­ally in full con­trol?
Mr. Hyde cel­e­brates the nature of men unhin­dered by social norms, rules or laws while Dr. Jekyll self cen­sors him­self as a proper gen­tle­man should in Vic­to­rian England.

As time goes on, this novella could be read in sev­eral ways. There is the most known one, that of split per­son­al­ity, but also could be a patho­log­i­cal angle of inves­ti­gat­ing the nature of men­tal ill­ness. In these days, where sci­ence, tech­nol­ogy and med­i­cine is much more advanced, the story could also be read as a warn­ing on the extreme use of mind alter­ing chem­i­cals, drugs or alco­hol and the self destruc­tive prop­er­ties of such actions.

But Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde could also be read as a phi­los­o­phy book which deals with the knowl­edge that we are all on death's door. Death, in this case, is rep­re­sented as a man of flesh and blood. A psy­cho­an­a­lyst could also, some­what jus­ti­fi­ably, could read the story as the psy­chotic and nar­cis­sist fan­tasy of Dr. Jekyll.

I found the book's sub­ject dis­turb­ing, not because of the mur­der or Goth involved, but more on a psy­cho­log­i­cal level. The pos­si­bil­ity of every indi­vid­ual lead­ing a dou­ble life is a scary thought, espe­cially when it comes to loved ones. How often, when a grotesque mur­der occurs, we hear the almost laugh­able lines "he was such a nice guy" or "she was a won­der­ful mother"?

Another side of the story, and I say that as a fan of Mr. Stevenson's work since an early age, I can cer­tainly see a pat­tern of com­men­tary on Vic­to­rian Eng­land where, as is today, a person's wealth and social stand­ing relieves them of any moral oblig­a­tions towards their fel­low men or women.