Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Original Copyright Date: various
Original Publishing Date: 2009 (for this collection)
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars ( good )Back Cover Description:
Idealistic young scientist Henry Jekyll struggles to unlock the secrets of the soul. Testing chemicals in his lab, he drinks a mixture he hopes will isolate—and eliminate—human evil. Instead it unleashes the dark forces within him, transforming him into the hideous and murderous Mr. Hyde.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde dramatically brings to life a science-fiction case study of the nature of good and evil and the duality that can exist within one person. Resonant with psychological perception and ethical insight, the book has literary roots in Dostoevsky’s “The Double” and Crime and Punishment. Today Stevenson’s novella is recognized as an incisive study of Victorian morality and sexual repression, as well as a great thriller.
This collection also includes some of the author’s grimmest short fiction: “Lodging for the Night,” “The Suicide Club,” “Thrawn Janet,” “The Body Snatcher,” and “Markheim.”
My Thoughts
This was an interesting collection of stories by Robert Louis Stevenson. I should have read this before Halloween as all of them are macabre tales.
"Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is a novella which I've heard about all my life, but had never read. I guess a topic so well known can easily lead to hyped expectations. It was a good story, although, not as good as Stevenson's other works. I can see the parallels to Crime and Punishment alluded to in the back cover descriptions, and Stevenson even makes reference to Dostoevsky's works in the work.
"Lodging for the Night" tells the story of a cold night turned bad in a small hut where a game of cards leads to a stabbing and the main character venturing out into the night to get away from the scene and tries to find shelter.
"The Suicide Club" is actually three related short stories which follows Prince Florizel of Bohemia and his adventures infiltrating a suicide club. a place, where for 40 pounds, you play russian roulette. but instead of a bullet, you pull cards. Whomever pulls the ace of spades is the target, if you pull the ace of clubs, you must be one who kills. I thought these stories were great. According to the preface, Robert Louis Stevenson wanted to recreate the "Thousand and One Arabian Nights" and created a collection of short stories in that vein. The Suicide Club is part of that collection.
"Thrawn Janet" was a difficult story to read. It is essentially a campfire horror story told by a drunk scotsman in the 1700's in his native dialect. I never had to look so many words up, including "Thrawn" which means crooked or twisted.
"The Body Snatcher" is a story of a young doctor's apprentice who's main task is to collect bodies for the anatomist. Most of the bodies brought to him are in the middle of the night in suspicious circumstances. This story did lead to a new personal goal. Not only do I need "Gentleman Adventurer and Philanthropist" on my future business cards, but "Bon Vivant" needs to be added. It means, "A person with refined taste, especially one who enjoys superb food and drink."
"Markheim" is a short story about a man who kills a pawn shop owner on Christmas morning to rob him and his personal crisis which comes thereafter. This story is very similar to Crime and Punishment, on 400 pages shorter.
All in all, it was a good set of stories, but it took me longer to read than expected.
Now, in the style of Robert Louis Stevenson, " Let me profit my idleness, and make haste on my next verse"
From your review, it appears that you had several hours of interesting stories to entertain yourself. If you want to go back later for more of these macabre tales, you might try Poe.
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