The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (The Norton Library)

Part of the Norton Library series

The Norton Library edition of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde features the text of the first (1886) British edition. A thorough introduction by Caroline Levine discusses the contexts and structure of Stevenson’s thrilling horror, highlighting the literary achievements of “a fable that lies nearer to poetry than to ordinary prose fiction” (Vladimir Nabokov). Other selections include “Picturesque Notes on Edinburgh,” “The Body-Snatcher,” “Markheim,” and “The Bottle Imp.”

The Norton Library is a growing collection of high-quality texts and translations―influential works of literature and philosophy―introduced and edited by leading scholars. Norton Library editions prepare readers for their first encounter with the works that they’ll re-read over a lifetime.

• Inviting introductions highlight the work’s significance and influence, providing the historical and literary context students need to dive in with confidence.
• Endnotes and an easy-to-read design deliver an uninterrupted reading experience, encouraging students to read the text first and refer to endnotes for more information as needed.
• An affordable price (most $10 or less) encourages students to buy the book and to come to class with the assigned edition.

About the Editor: Caroline Levine is David and Kathleen Ryan Professor of the Humanities and Professor of English at Cornell University. She has written three books: The Serious Pleasures of Suspense: Victorian Realism and Narrative Doubt (2003), Provoking Democracy: Why We Need the Arts (2007), and Forms: Whole, Rhythm, Hierarchy, Network (2015). She is the nineteenth-century editor for the Norton Anthology of World Literature.

Robert Louis Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850 in Edinburgh, Scotland. A sickly child, he was often confined to bed and continued to suffer from poor health throughout his lifetime. In college, Stevenson rebelled against his conservative and religious upbringing and pursued an unconventional writer’s life. Stevenson was a world traveler, and his first book, An Inland Voyage (1878) chronicles his canoeing adventures in France. His voyages took him as far as California, Hawaii, and the Samoan Islands. While bedridden with severe respiratory issues, Stevenson produced his best-known works, the children’s classics Treasure Island (1883) and Kidnapped (1886), and the allegorical thriller Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and & Mr. Hyde (1886). Robert Louis Stevenson died on December 3, 1894 in Vailima, Samoa.

Caroline Levine is David and Kathleen Ryan Professor of the Humanities and Professor of English at Cornell University. She has written three books: The Serious Pleasures of Suspense: Victorian Realism and Narrative Doubt (2003), Provoking Democracy: Why We Need the Arts (2007), and Forms: Whole, Rhythm, Hierarchy, Network (2015). She is the nineteenth-century editor for the Norton Anthology of World Literature.