Stevenson, Robert Louis

About the Author:

Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1850.  He died in 1894.

AVERAGE REVIEW SCORE:

4 out of 5

(1 book)

The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde & The Merry Men And Other Tales And Fables

A collection of Stevenson's short stories, most of which have Gothic or supernatural themes. 

First and most famous is Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, which is like  Stoker 's 'Dracula' and Shelley's 'Frankenstein' in that popular culture has distorted its place in the public consciousness to a degree that the original story has been lost.  It is by far the best story in this book and is a truly great work of Gothic literature, building the story of Dr Jekyll's dark obsession through the investigative eyes of the lawyer Mr Utterson. 

The other gems of this book are 'Markheim', in which a murderer wrestles with his conscience whilst goaded on by the Devil, and 'Olalla', in which a recuperating soldier finds himself amid morally degenerate nobility in Spain. 

The book also has its weak points and the worst of these is 'Will O' The Mill' which attempts to be some sort of parable but which sadly reads as little more than self-indulgent nonsense.  Overall this is a great collection of stories in which Stevenson explores an obvious fascination with the supernatural.

4 out of 5

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