Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Real Reads Science Fiction)

When Dr. Henry Jekyll dares to explore the delicate balance between good and evil, he little suspects the destructive powers he will unleash. In London’s respectable society, Jekyll’s friends grow concerned. Why has Jekyll suddenly changed his will, and what is his connection with the frightening Mr. Hyde? In London’s squalor, a child is trampled and an elderly gentleman brutally murdered. Why do all fingers point towards Mr. Hyde? Is Jekyll strong enough to resist Hyde’s strange power? Are Jekyll’s friends strong enough to help? In this exploration of two sides of Victorian London and two sides of human nature, the conflict between good and evil has been given a terrifying twist.

Real Reads are accessible texts designed to support the literacy development of primary and lower secondary age children while introducing them to the riches of our international literary heritage. Each book is a retelling of a work of great literature from one of the world’s greatest cultures, fitted into a 64-page book, making classic stories, dramas and histories available to intelligent young readers as a bridge to the full texts, to language students wanting access to other cultures, and to adult readers who are unlikely ever to read the original versions.

The real life adventures of author Robert Louis Stevenson rival those of his famous fictional characters. Born into a strictly religious, middle-class Edinburgh family, he later rebelled and refused to follow his father into the lighthouse construction business, opting instead for a literary career and marriage to Fanny, the love of his life and a crack-shot American divorcee. His travels took him to France, America and the South Pacific. Stevenson was an atheist and free spirit - in Samoa, where he died - and he fought in a civil war for independence. In 1886, the blockbuster novel Kidnapped was published - a dramatic adventure of abduction and life on the run in the wilds of Scotland. Stevenson died in 1894, just 44 years old. The Samoan natives, who were devoted to Stevenson, cut a track through the jungle to create a resting place for him on top of the mountain above his beloved Vailima estate.

VANESSA LUBACH has been working as an illustrator, painter and printmaker since graduating from Brighton Art School in 1990. She lives in Norwich with her illustrator husband Peter and her three children.