Robert Louis Stevenson publishes Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Background. Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is an 1886 Gothic horror novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. The story concerns a dual personality, featuring a kind physician who transforms into a psychopathic monster after taking a drug intended to separate good from evil. Stevenson wrote the novella in Bournemouth, Dorset, having moved there in 1884 for health reasons and his stepson's schooling.

Publication. The American publisher Charles Scribner's Sons issued an authorized edition in New York on 5 January 1886, printing 3,000 copies. This preceded the first UK edition, published in London by Longmans, Green, and Co., by four days. Initially, stores did not stock the novella until a favorable review appeared in The Times on 25 January 1886.

Reception. The novella initially lacked retail availability: stores did not stock it until a review appeared in The Times on 25 January 1886 giving it a favorable reception. The work's treatment of a physician who transforms after imbibing a drug intended to separate good from evil has been noted in connection with the growth of understanding of the subconscious mind, and the story was much adapted in plays and films.