Product Description

The text of Stevenson's novella is that of the 1886 First British Edition, the only edition which was set directly from the author's manuscript and for which he read proofs. It has been rigorously annotated for undergraduate readers and is accompanied by a textual appendix. "Backgrounds and Contexts" includes a wealth of materials on the story and its relevance to Victorian culture. "Performance Adaptations" shows the versatility with which the plot of Jekyll and Hyde has been reworked over more than a century as an outlet for modern psychological and social concerns. "Criticism" collects five essays on the novella, centering on its allegorical dimensions (Chesterton, Brantlinger, and Linehan) and its narrative technique (Nabokov, Garrett). A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.

About the series: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of the Norton Critical Editions. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehensive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Careful editing, first-rate translation, and thorough explanatory annotations allow each text to meet the highest literary standards while remaining accessible to students. Each edition is printed on acid-free paper and every text in the series remains in print. Norton Critical Editions are the choice for excellence in scholarship for students at more than 2,000 universities worldwide.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51141 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

About the Author
Katherine B. Linehan is Professor of English at Oberlin College. She is the author of articles on Robert Louis Stevenson, George Gissing, and George Eliot.

Customer Reviews

Some Points to Consider
Since I am a contributor to this volume, I will not offer a "review" in a conventional sense, but I will offer a list of contents, which this website otherwise does not offer. As there are a number of competing paperback editions of Stevenson's novella and the text of the story is essentially the same (allowing for minor editorial variants), readers should consider the issue of what else besides the main text they will be getting for their money, and this edition is unusually rich in supplementary features, so that the original story makes up only 55 of its 222 pages.

In addition to the text of Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," with explanatory notes by the editor, this volume also contains:

A preface by the editor, a "textual appendix" about textual variants in the manuscripts, a map of 19th century London marking places mentioned in the story, a timeline of the major events in the life of author Robert Louis Stevenson, and a bibliography. Plus...

An excerpt from a biography about Stevenson by Graham Balfour about the circumstances of the story's authorship...

A brief excerpt from Stevenson's "A Chapter on Dreams," which discusses the influence of his dreams on the story...

12 letters by Stevenson that discuss aspects of the "Dr. Jekyll" story...

10 contemporary reviews and comments about "Dr. Jekyll" that show how the story was originally received...

Another horror-oriented short story by Stevenson entitled "Markheim"...

A brief non-fiction piece by Stevenson, "How I Came to be such a student of our Penny Press," together with some examples of 19th century book advertising...

Three essays about the literary context of "Dr. Jekyll": Karl Miller, "The Modern Double": Jenni Calder, "Stevenson's Scottish Devil Tales"; and Judith Halberstam, "An Introduction to Gothic Monstrosity"...

Four essays about the scientific context of Stevenson's story: Stephen Jay Gould, "Post-Darwinist Theories of the Ape Within"; Frederic W. H. Myers, "Multiple Personality"; Norman Kerr, "Abject Slaves to the Narcotic"; John Addington Symonds, "This Aberrant Inclination in Myself"...

Two essays about the socio-historical context of Stevenson's story: Judith R. Walkowitz, "London in the 1880s"; and Walter Houghton, "Hypocrisy"...

Three essays and a filmography about theatrical and film adaptations of "Dr. Jekyll": C. Alex Pinkston, Jr., "The Stage Premiere of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"; Charles King, "Themes and Variations" (about film); Scott Allen Nollen, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Paramount, 1931)"; and Katherine Linehan, "A Checklist of Major Performance Adaptations"...

And five additional critical essays: G. K. Chesterton, "The Real Stab of the Story"; Vladimir Nabokov, "The Phenomenon of Style"; Peter K. Garrett, "Instabilities of Meaning, Morality, and Narration"; Patrick Brantlinger, "An Unconscious Allegory about the Masses and Mass Literacy"; and Katherine Linehan, "Sex, Secrecy and Self-Alienation in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde".

For sheer range of commentary, I do not think that you could point to a comparable volume.

A fine edition for scholars, students and the general reader
This is another first-rate critical edition from Norton. The text is cleanly printed with careful and accurate annotations. Both the critical and the backgrounds and contexts essays are well chosen. Sections on performance adaptations on stage and screen and on literary, scientific and sociohistorical contexts are particularly useful.One of the best critical essays is the editor's own. A detailed Stevenson chronology and an accurate selected bibliography conclude the volume.

Jekyll and Hyde "Norton Critical Editon"
This is a really nice edition of this book. The indexes in the back provide a lot of insight into the author and the times.