Two Women of London: The Strange Case of Ms Jekyll and Mrs Hyde - Softcover

Tennant, Emma

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0571280145 ISBN 13: 9780571280148

Publisher: Faber and Faber, 2011

Synopsis

You can't imagine what it's like when your youth comes back - and beauty, and more. . . I found out that if I took the pills I could turn - just like that - into the person I had been. Yes, into me! Eliza! Where had I gone? Who had I been?' Emma Tennant's brilliant re-imagining of Robert Louis Stevenson tells of an impoverished single mother at the bitter end of her tether, who finds dark pharmaceutical means to revive her looks and career ambitions. This splitting of personality, however, leads to disintegration and murder. 'Fascinating.' Financial Times 'Brilliant. . . Wittily worked out, perceptive of modern m ores and values.' Times Literary Supplement 'Reminiscent of Muriel Spark at her very darkest and very best.' Scotland on Sunday

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Tennant ( The Adventures of Robina by Herself ) here cleverly reworks the classic tale, giving it a contemporary setting and a decidedly feminist twist. The construction itself is unusual--more like a play, complete with a "cast list" and a prologue that not only describes the crime but names the murderer. This device distances the reader from the action and signals that the story is less important than its social implications. It also makes the book rather an odd read. Still, there is plenty to pique the mystery lover's interest, as we quickly figure out that the task is to discern the killer's motivation and the nature of her connection to the rest of the players. As in the original tale, Mrs. Hyde and Ms. Jekyll are alter egos of one very disconnected person, here an otherwise respectable woman driven to madness, child abuse and drug addiction by her husband's desertion and the resultant loss of a defined societal role. The story of her degeneration is poignant and thought-provoking. Yet Tennant's indictment of modern society and the impossible demands it places upon women would be more effectively presented on the stage.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Faber and Faber
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0571280145
• ISBN 13: 9780571280148
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 136