The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: The Black Arrow and other Stories

Book excerpt: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and other stories: Contents: STORY OF THE DOOR SEARCH FOR MR. HYDE DR. JEKYLL WAS QUITE AT EASE THE CAREW MURDER CASE INCIDENT OF THE LETTER REMARKABLE INCIDENT OF DR. LANYON INCIDENT AT THE WINDOW THE LAST NIGHT DR. LANYON’S NARRATIVE HENRY JEKYLL’S FULL STATEMENT OF THE CASE The Black Arrow 'He put the glass to his lips and drank at one gulp... his face became suddenly black and the features seemed to melt and alter' Published as a 'shilling shocker', Robert Louis Stevenson's dark psychological fantasy gave birth to the idea of the split personality. The story of respectable Dr Jekyll's strange association with 'damnable young man' Edward hyde; the hunt through fog-bound London for a killer; and the final revelation of Hyde's true identity is a chilling exploration of humanity's basest capacity for evil. The other stories in this volume also testify to Stevenson's inventiveness within the Gothic tradition: 'Olalla', a tale of vampirism and tainted family blood, and 'The Body Snatcher', a gruesome fictionalization of the exploits of the notorious Burke and Hare. This edition contains a critical introduction by Robert Mighall, which discusses class, criminality and the significance of the story's London setting. It also includes an essay on the scientific contexts of the novel and the development of the idea of the Jekyll-and-Hyde personality. The Black Arrow Originally serialized in a periodical of boys' adventure fiction, The Black Arrow is a swashbuckling portrait of a young man's journey to discover the heroism within himself. Young Dick Shelton, caught in the midst of England's War of the Roses, finds his loyalties torn between the guardian who will ultimately betray him and the leader of a secret fellowship, The Black Arrow. As Shelton is drawn deeper into this conspiracy, he must distinguish friend from foe and confront war, shipwreck, revenge, murder, and forbidden love, as England's crown threatens to topple around him.