Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde.

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

Publication: Longmans, Green, and Co, 1886 First UK and first hardcover edition, London

Preceded by the U.S. edition published four days earlier in the same year. A fine, bright, square copy of a book that seldom appears on the market. A classic of English literature and one of the greatest of all masterpieces of psychological and moral horror. Stevenson tells the story of a London lawyer, Gabriel John Utterson, investigating strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the evil Edward Hyde. Jekyll, a well-respected scientist, creates a potion to separate his good and evil selves, resulting in the creation of the monstrous Hyde. Initially, Jekyll enjoys the freedom Hyde offers, but Hyde's actions, including murder, lead Jekyll to lose control. Clute and Nicholls eds., THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION, page 1165 say, ".... a Faustian moral fable which takes the form of a tale of mystery and horror. It precedes Oscar Wilde's THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (1891), which in some respects resembles it, by five years, and is the prototype of all stories of multiple personality, transformation and possession; in some respects it is also a tale of drug dependency." Housed in a green quarter leather and cloth clamshell case with raised bands on the spine and titles stamped in gold gilt. A Haycraft/Queen Cornerstone mystery. An exceptional copy.