Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

STEVENSON, Robert Louis.

Item Number: 139554

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1886.

First edition of Stevenson‘s classic gothic novella which preceded the first English edition by four days and was published on January 5, 1886 in an edition of 1,250 copies in cloth and 3,000 copies in paper wrappers. Beinecke 347. Octavo, original olive green cloth lettered in gilt, half-title and 2 pages of Scribner’s advertisements at end. In near fine condition. An exceptional example.

"If [Bram Stoker's] Dracula leaves one with the sensation of having been struck down by a massive, 400-page wall of horror, then Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is like the sudden, mortal jab of an ice pick" (Stephen King). Leaping to life out of a "fine bogey dream" from which the author's wife abruptly awakened him, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde proved "immediately and lastingly Stevenson's most famous story" (Baugh et al., 1499). "Published as a 'shilling shocker,' a form at that time in fashion, it became instantly popular; was quoted from a thousand pulpits; was translated into German, French and Danish; and the names of its two chief characters have passed into the common stock of proverbial allusion" (DNB). "It is a Faustian moral fable which takes the form of a tale of mystery and horror… [It] is the prototype of all stories of multiple personality, transformation and possession… The psychological power of the writing, including Jekyll's agonies, is patent" (Clute & Nicholls, 1165). "When we thrill to the shock and horror of the story, I think it is because we all, at least to some degree, have been torn by [Jekyll's] internal conflict. When we recoil in terror from the selfish savagery of Mr. Hyde, I think it is because we fear our own secret selves" (Jack Williamson).