The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Dr. Jekyll begins as an ordinary, well-mannered scientist. He is calm and collected and a nice, apologetic man. However, he dabbles in the darker aspects of the scientific field. He wants to create a serum to change himself and unleash his eviler side. But what happens isn’t what was intended.

In this very short (easily read within an hour) story, he incidentally turns into a maniac, and the remainder of the book is him fighting against his own dark nature, which he released upon himself.

There are a series of unfortunate things that Mr. Hyde does, and Dr. Jekyll struggles with them. He becomes a man with split personalities – and the ending showcases how damaging that can be.

Like many of the other classics, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is so much more than the story of a crazy scientist. This is the story about everyone and their two contradicting sides. It’s a book about good and evil, and about our dual natures.

The lesson here is that if one nature outshines the other, it can have drastic consequences. It’s beautifully written in short prose, whisking the reader through the series of unfortunate incidents leading to the book’s satisfying conclusion.

It’s a treat to read from beginning to end and can be done so in less than two hours. It’s not a long book. But it is fun to read the inspiration for a character who has taken on many forms since its conception. The book makes you think about your own dark side and what might happen if it were unleashed.

It is an old book, so the language is obviously outdated, but it’s not hard to read. The language is easily digestible for anyone. It’s just a shame he never turns into a big snarling monster.