The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Classic Starts Series)

by Robert Louis Stevenson, Kathleen Olmstead (Abridged by), Jamel Akib (Illustrator), Arthur Pober (Afterword)

Overview

A single person—but with two personalities: one that’s noble and kind and another that’s pure, repulsive evil. Robert Louis Stevenson’s engrossing masterpiece about the dual nature of man—and a good doctor whose thirst for knowledge has tragic consequences—serves up all the suspense and satisfying chills one expects from the best horror and science fiction.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402726675
Publisher:	Union Square & Co.
Publication date:	03/28/2006
Series:	Classic Starts® Series
Edition description:	Modern Retelling
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.38(w) x 7.50(h) x (d)
Lexile:	610L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 9 Years

About the Author

Novelist, poet, and essayist Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. A sickly child, Stevenson was an invalid for part of his childhood and remained in ill health throughout his life. He began studying engineering at Edinburgh University but soon switched to law. His true inclination, however, was for writing. For several years after completing his studies, Stevenson traveled on the Continent, gathering ideas for his writing. His Inland Voyage (1878) and Travels with a Donkey (1878) describe some of his experiences there. A variety of essays and short stories followed, most of which were published in magazines. It was with the publication of Treasure Island in 1883, however, that Stevenson achieved wide recognition and fame. This was followed by his most successful adventure story, Kidnapped, which appeared in 1886. With stories such as Treasure Island and Kidnapped, Stevenson revived Daniel Defoe's novel of romantic adventure, adding to it psychological analysis. While these stories and others, such as David Balfour and The Master of Ballantrae (1889), are stories of adventure, they are at the same time fine studies of character. The Master of Ballantrae, in particular, is a study of evil character, and this study is taken even further in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886). In 1887 Stevenson and his wife, Fanny, went to the United States, first to the health spas of Saranac Lake, New York, and then on to the West Coast. From there they set out for the South Seas in 1889. Except for one trip to Sidney, Australia, Stevenson spent the remainder of his life on the island of Samoa with his devoted wife and stepson. While there he wrote The Wrecker (1892), Island Nights Entertainments (1893), and Catriona (1893), a sequel to Kidnapped. He also worked on St. Ives and The Weir of Hermiston, which many consider to be his masterpiece. He died suddenly of apoplexy, leaving both of these works unfinished. Both were published posthumously; St. Ives was completed by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, and The Weir of Hermiston was published unfinished. Stevenson was buried on Samoa, an island he had come to love very much. Although Stevenson's novels are perhaps more accomplished, his short stories are also vivid and memorable. All show his power of invention, his command of the macabre and the eerie, and the psychological depth of his characterization.

Date of Birth:

November 13, 1850

Date of Death:

December 3, 1894

Place of Birth:

Edinburgh, Scotland

Place of Death:

Vailima, Samoa

Education:

Edinburgh University, 1875

Editorial Reviews

Gr 3-7-Large print, short chapters, and an abundance of white space provide an attractive, more-accessible option for readers who are not ready to handle the originals. At best, this approach works as a vehicle to deliver the basic elements of the stories while providing an entertaining, simplified version of the classic at a lower reading level. After all, many of our cultural references would be lost on readers who don't know what Jekyll and Hyde represent, or what consequences the creator of Frankenstein faced. At worst, the sometimes-stilted language reads like awkward translations. What is missing, of course, is the very language that makes these classics so evocative of their time. Victorian London, for example, is captured so much more readily with the elegant and dramatic prose of Robert Louis Stevenson. If presenting "Classic Starts," do so with a recommendation: when you are ready, read the originals. There can be no substitute.-Elizabeth Fernandez, Brunswick Middle School, Greenwich, CT Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

This sinister classic starts off gently, with Rebecca K. Reynolds giving an elegant voice to the lawyer from whose perspective it is told. But his inner turmoil emerges even before listeners hear of his first encounter with the evil Mr. Hyde. With a report of a witnessed murder, Reynolds's tempo picks up. Throughout, she narrates with a tone of gravitas that fits the lawyer well. What's happening isn't told fully until the end, but older listeners will likely already know the fate of the mild-mannered Dr. Jekyll. The story, tailored for family listening, shines a light on human nature by examining our good and evil sides. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2020 - AudioFile