Dr Jekyl and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

This short novella written by the author of Treasure Island is an excellent story. My oldest son is currently reading this in his junior English Monsters class.

The story is actually fantastic. I am actually surprised that this book has not been made into a big budget movie. The story is pretty simple, told by a London Lawyer named Utterson we learn about the strange behavior of a Dr Hyde. Hyde has been acting strangely and moreso we learn that he has been keeping company with a strange man named Hyde. Hyde is mysterious and when one approaches him they feel a sense of violence and revulsion.

Soon Hyde becomes wanted as he has assaulted and killed an elderly member of the British Parliment. We learn the truth of the strange relationship between Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. There are no surprises in the story, we all know the basic tenets. Still when one raeds the story they can easily see the depth of Stevenson's feelings on the subject of the divided nature of man. What he is trying to say is that we are all beasts and we all endeavor daily to control our dark sides.

A neat little story, one you can take for the depth and think about it's meaning or just an interesting story that tells like the Looney Tunes version of the story about a man who drinks a magic potion and becomes transfigured into his basest self. Either way you win.