"An addictive read, Seeking Hyde pulls us into the life and work of Robert Louis Stevenson―his writing process, entertaining friendships, fiery marriage, and complex, brilliant mind. A perfect novel for anyone with a passion for books and love of literary thrillers, Seeking Hyde entertains as it unmasks the man behind some of the greatest works of British literature."—Virginia Pye, author of Dreams of the Red Phoenix & River of Dust
"Seeking Hyde is a stunning debut, rich beyond measure in wit and wisdom, truth and tenderness. Every passage is a gem, every chapter a page-turner."—Robert Olmstead, author of Savage Country
"One part literary portrait, and one part thriller, Thomas Reed’s debut novel deftly reconstructs the very origins of Robert Louis Stevenson’s singular imagination, his memories and his dreams, his demons and his longings. You don’t need to be a Stevenson aficionado to become totally absorbed by the encounters Reed creates between the famous author of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and a trio of intimate interlocutors: the sexologist, John Addington Symonds, the novelist, Henry James, and Stevenson’s outspoken and stalwart soul-mate, wife, and nurse, the American-born, Fanny. Like the book by Stevenson that inspires it, Reed’s novel dares to entertain 'the abysmal deeps of personality' and the 'ambiguities of life itself."—Mary Cappello, author of Life Breaks In: A Mood Almanack
"Seeking Hyde is a riveting convergence of fact and fiction. Reed reveals a compelling and complex Robert Louis Stevenson―the writer he was, the man he wanted to be, and the detective he might have been."—Susan Perabo, author of The Fall of Lisa Bellow"An author in his prime trying to write another classic, the liveliest of 1880s marriages, bar room brawls, sharp words, sleuthing among friends and to top it all off: Jack the Ripper. What Thomas Reed has gone and done with Robert Louis Stevenson―real and imagined―is a romping good read."—Mary Murphy, New York Times Best-Selling author of Scout Atticus & Boo: A celebration of "To Kill a Mockingbird"
"An addictive read, Seeking Hyde pulls us into the life and work of Robert Louis Stevenson―his writing process, entertaining friendships, fiery marriage, and complex, brilliant mind. A perfect novel for anyone with a passion for books and love of literary thrillers, Seeking Hyde entertains as it unmasks the man behind some of the greatest works of British literature."—Virginia Pye, author of Dreams of the Red PhoenixRiver of Dust
"Seeking Hyde is a stunning debut, rich beyond measure in wit and wisdom, truth and tenderness. Every passage is a gem, every chapter a page-turner."—Robert Olmstead, author of Savage Country
"One part literary portrait, and one part thriller, Thomas Reed’s debut novel deftly reconstructs the very origins of Robert Louis Stevenson’s singular imagination, his memories and his dreams, his demons and his longings. You don’t need to be a Stevenson aficionado to become totally absorbed by the encounters Reed creates between the famous author of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and a trio of intimate interlocutors: the sexologist, John Addington Symonds, the novelist, Henry James, and Stevenson’s outspoken and stalwart soul-mate, wife, and nurse, the American-born, Fanny. Like the book by Stevenson that inspires it, Reed’s novel dares to entertain 'the abysmal deeps of personality' and the 'ambiguities of life itself."—Mary Cappello, author of Life Breaks In: A Mood Almanack
"Seeking Hyde is a riveting convergence of fact and fiction. Reed reveals a compelling and complex Robert Louis Stevenson―the writer he was, the man he wanted to be, and the detective he might have been."—Susan Perabo, author of The Fall of Lisa Bellow"An author in his prime trying to write another classic, the liveliest of 1880s marriages, bar room brawls, sharp words, sleuthing among friends and to top it all off: Jack the Ripper. What Thomas Reed has gone and done with Robert Louis Stevenson―real and imagined―is a romping good read."—Mary Murphy, New York Times Best-Selling author of Scout Atticus Boo: A celebration of "To Kill a Mockingbird"
2018-08-21
In this debut novel with biographical roots, Reed explores the career and relationships of famous author Robert Louis Stevenson, focusing on the creation of his most famous characters.
As a young man, Louis Stevenson and his friends pursued many of the usual vices. By the time Stevenson is a successful published author, with Treasure Island under his belt, one of his friends is dying of alcoholism. This has a profound impact on Louis, and based on a final visit with Ferrier as well as an intense dream, he writes the first draft of what will become The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It's his wife, Fanny, however, who suggests to him that he has the opportunity to create an allegory that can speak to all human experience with addiction; Louis casts the first draft upon the fire and rewrites the story that has fascinated and repelled readers for more than a century. Following this success, Jekyll and Hyde is rewritten for the stage, but the performance coincides with the first brutal Jack the Ripper murders that will soon terrorize London. Feeling responsible for inspiring these crimes, Stevenson joins forces with a literary critic friend to hunt down the man responsible. There is much to like about Reed's novel: The focus on this most classic study of man's split nature fascinates, and the description of the setting, especially a dark and seedy London torn by a similar duality, satisfies. However, the novel as a whole and Stevenson in particular are unnecessarily verbose. There are multiple conversations that add little to the story except to prove that Louis Stevenson and his wife and friends were clever people who enjoyed intellectual discussion and verbal fencing. If only the novel had more closely emulated the word count of Stevenson's masterpiece.
A little less conversation, a little more action, please (as Elvis Presley once begged).
