Author(s): Robert Louis Stevenson

Classics

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson first published in 1886. The story starts with a lawyer named Gabriel John Utterson investigating strange events between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll, and the evil Edward Hyde. Stevenson (1850 - 1894) won widespread admiration with Treasure Island, written in 1883, and followed it with Kidnapped in 1886; both were adventure stories, the former a pirate tale set on the high seas and the latter a historical novel set in Stevenson's native Scotland. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which Stevenson described as a "fine bogey tale," also came out in 1886. It met with tremendous success, selling 40,000 copies in six months and ensuring Stevenson's fame as a writer.