Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Third Edition

First published in 1886 as a “shilling shocker,” Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde takes the basic struggle between good and evil and adds to the mix bourgeois respectability, urban violence, and class conflict. The result is a tale that has taken on the force of myth in the popular imagination. This Broadview edition provides a fascinating selection of contextual material, including contemporary reviews of the novel, Stevenson’s essay “A Chapter on Dreams,” and excerpts from the 1887 stage version of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Also included are historical documents on criminality and degeneracy, the “Jack the Ripper” murders, the “double brain,” and London in the 1880s. New to this third edition are an appendix on the figure of the Victorian gentleman and an expanded selection of letters related to the novel; the introduction and bibliography have also been updated to reflect recent criticism.

Patrick Brantlinger, Indiana University

“Martin Danahay provides an authoritative text, an excellent introductory commentary, an up-to-date bibliography, and a well-chosen set of contextualizing appendices. For an in-depth understanding of Stevenson’s masterpiece of horror, this is the text of choice.”

John Kucich, University of Michigan

“Martin Danahay’s edition of Jekyll and Hyde is a treasure trove of biographical, cultural, and historical materials. It makes a number of important contexts for interpretation available through its accessible but intriguing assemblage of ancillary documents. It cannot fail to be the inspiration for deeper investigations of a masterpiece that is itself at the crossroads of Victorian anxieties about sex, class, psychology, evolution, and the rise of popular culture.”

From the Back Cover

First published in 1886 as a “shilling shocker,” Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde takes the basic struggle between good and evil and adds to the mix bourgeois respectability, urban violence, and class conflict. The result is a tale that has taken on the force of myth in the popular imagination. This Broadview edition provides a fascinating selection of contextual material, including contemporary reviews of the novel, Stevenson’s essay “A Chapter on Dreams,” and excerpts from the 1887 stage version of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Also included are historical documents on criminality and degeneracy, the “Jack the Ripper” murders, the “double brain,” and London in the 1880s. New to this third edition are an appendix on the figure of the Victorian gentleman and an expanded selection of letters related to the novel; the introduction and bibliography have also been updated to reflect recent criticism.

About the Author

Martin A. Danahay is Professor of English at Brock University.

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