
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
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Narrated by:
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Martin Jarvis
About this listen
This is the disturbing tale of the dual personality of Dr. Jekyll, a physician. A generous and philanthropic man, he is preoccupied with the problems of good and evil, and with the possibility of separating them into distinct personalities. He develops a drug that transforms him into the demonic Mr. Hyde, in whose person he exhausts all the latent evil in his nature. He also creates an antidote that will restore him to his respectable existence as Dr. Jekyll. Gradually, however, the unmitigated evil of his darker self predominates until finally he performs an atrocious murder. His saner self determines to curtail these alternations of personality, but he discovers that he is losing control over his transformations and that he slips with increasing frequency into the world of evil. Finally, unable to procure one of the ingredients for the mixture of redemption, and on the verge of being discovered, he commits suicide.
Stark, skillfully woven, this fascinating novel explores the curious turnings of human character through the strange case of Dr. Jekyll, a kindly scientist who by night takes on his stunted, evil self, Mr. Hyde. Anticipating modern psychology, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a brilliantly original study of man's dual nature as well as an immortal tale of suspense and terror.
This tale has lost none of its ability to shock. Its realistic police-style narrative chillingly relates Dr. Jekyll’s desperation as Hyde gains control of his soul - and gives voice to our own fears of the violence and evil within us.
Public Domain (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Critic reviews
“The theme of human duality…is nowhere presented with more force and originality….[T]he story reveals Stevenson’s understanding of human nature and his mastery of English prose.” (Masterpieces of World Literature)
Great classic
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An enjoyable listen.
A classic book
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Everyone will have heard of the phrase Jekyll and Hyde by now to refer to one’s darker instincts or impulses or a genteel public face with much darker inner thoughts but back when it was created The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr Hyde had quite the impact on high society. As well as helping to popularise and create the gothic literature genre, it also had quite the legendary apocryphal origin in one of Mr Stevenson’s nightmares as well as numerous drafts several of which supposedly burned in the fire grate.
Stevenson did create many great works – obscure and well known – but it is no exaggeration to say that Jekyll and Hyde have grown into two of his most ubiquitous characters with numerous adaptations going as far back as a stage version produced the year after publication in 1886 with a famous 1887 stage version, a lost film version from 1908 and a classic Paramount film version from 1931 just being three such examples.
Now time for a simple synopsis or blurb of the original story for those few who need it: Gabriel John Utterson is a skilled lawyer and often the last reputable friend of those approaching the path of the downtrodden. He is a recluse of sorts who finds himself drawn to the stories of Hyde as his client Dr. Henry Jekyll has recently changed his will upon death or disappearance extending beyond three months to bequeath everything to the disreputable Hyde.
Utterson begins to investigate with help from others under the assumption that Jekyll is being blackmailed by Hyde only for Hyde’s actions to become even more heinous and sadistic in character. The question of course is how does this impact Jekyll and his many high society friends? And just how will this strange case end once Utterson begins his investigation?
This story is genuinely a classic for a reason. The descriptions of some of Hyde’s actions, or Jekyll’s desperation or the effects of the serum are gruesome or engaging in a way that definitely grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. Stevenson’s fame in his heyday is definitely understandable if this is the usual pedigree of his work. The format of the original novel – with a third person narrative intermixed, when necessary, with diary entries and letters – can be awkward on occasion for modern readers as that particular technique has fallen by the wayside over time but much like Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein – the latter of which I reviewed some years ago – the book manages to keep your attention throughout.
My main critique is not the book’s fault in the slightest. As my readers may guess, public domain works often end up with a VERY large amount of audio versions. Be it with narration from first time narrators, big name film actors or skilled voice artists in most cases you can usually find a version where the narrator or narrators grab you. No matter if it is Sherlock Holmes, the original Arsène Lupin novels or The War Of The Worlds, that is normally the case.
When it came to Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde however? I had some issues finding an audio version to settle on. No version I contemplated had bad narration. Allow me to make that clear right now. With some versions performed by skilled actors of the stage, one by Richard E. Grant of all people strangely and one by an up-and-coming talent I have heard is highly respected in the audio sphere, I fear this problem may have been purely a ‘me’ issue, but it did take some time to find an audio version I found a good fit to review. That is partly why it took so long to put my thoughts to words.
Eventually I listened to a complete reading with narration by Martin Jarvis who has quite the history with audio drama both in terms of BBC Radio 4 dramatisations and audiobook readings going back a long number of years. Jarvis’s narration as Utterson, Jekyll’s butler Poole and Jekyll and Hyde themselves is definitely enjoyable and makes for a quick and compelling listen. Unfortunately, however despite Mr Jarvis’s clear efforts, it did take some time to get fully invested. Several of his character voices – namely for the upper-class characters – do feel like they blend together somewhat at least upon first hearing. The listener can differentiate them but it does take some doing initially. Mr Jarvis is a skilled narrator so any issues I may have with his chosen character voices are not due to a lack of talent, skill or effort but simply due to the character voices in question for some characters in the text. I reiterate my praise for his chosen voice for Hyde as it can be a chilling voice when one is in the right frame of mind.
In short the story is very well written with good narration and a fun Halloween listen. With the themes of transformation, the duality of human nature, the power of addiction and others that can be read into the text it works perfectly for this time of year with witches, ghouls and monsters in our nightmares. I do recommend this audio version for those of you who are interested and I hope that all of my readers have a fun and safe Halloween. I will return when I can with another audio adventure to discuss and hopefully praise once again.
Sayonara!
Nephrite
A good if flawed edition of a classic
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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
It wasn't very long so yes, my wife have been talking about the book as a play so I expected way more bad things to happen.What does Martin Jarvis bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
Nice voice, not too much expression yet kept some feeling to it. It did bring more depth and personality to the characters, something I feel is needed when you are reading a dialogIf this book were a film would you go see it?
Sure, it has some of my favorite themes (psychology, psychosis, drug use, drug making, murderer, hiding in plane sight)Any additional comments?
I like the book, the narrator, the characters but it was a bit short and I would have liked a more extended period of Jekyll being Hyde but overall a great book.The duality and dark side of man
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The story, despite its archaic nature is still very relevant to today. If you've not read or heard this story, I can fully recommend it.
Listened to help with my son's GCSEs but
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amazing narrative and a story worth listening to.
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There are some interesting metaphors between the effects of (drug) addiction on both the body and soul. Given that at the time of writing most people in the UK would have been Christian and many using opium, they seem rather poignant.
Short and Sweet
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Classic gothic mystery
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Great for Revision
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Always Awesome
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