A-Z: Classic Monsters: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

It's Friday and today's letter is "J" for the A-Z Challenge.  Of course I've decided to to feature Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde even though Mr. Hyde was the monster.  Still, in my opinion, Dr. Jekyll was a total monster for creating such a concoction that would turn him into Mr. Hyde, right?

About The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Written by Robert Louis Stevenson, this piece of classic literature was incredibly expressive for one written during a time when society was mostly oppressed.  If you think about it, other than the fantasy aspect to it, that might have been why it was so popular.  Robert Stevenson is a master and happens to be one of my favorite classic lit authors.  If you have had a chance to read this short story, check out my creepy classic review here.

About the film from Wikipedia

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1931 American Pre-Code horror film directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Fredric March. The film is an adaptation of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), the Robert Louis Stevenson tale of a man who takes a potion which turns him from a mild-mannered man of science into a homicidal maniac. March's performance has been much lauded, and earned him his first Academy Award.

If you could create a potion that would allow your evil alter ego emerge and live vicariously (without consequences) through that version of yourself...would you do it?  Some say drugs and alcohol have that effect, but I'm not talking about that.  Thoughts?

My favorite spin-off - Hyde and Hare

Can you think of any classic monsters that start with J?  Are you a Robert Louis Stevenson fan?  What about Bugs Bunny?

Mina B.

Best Opening Lines in Novels

I thought I'd write a post about the best opening lines in novels. I personally never put too much stock into the first sentence of a manuscript but there are scads of agents, publishers and readers who do.  I used to be somewhat perplexed on how an agent could decipher interest in a novel within the first 500 words. However, when reflecting on some of the classics, I understand completely. That being said I thought I’d highlight a few of my favorite opening lines to gauge your thoughts or possible render of few favorites of your own. (Note: These are in no particular order, just the ones that happen to be top of my mind.)

(My review)

Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – “Mr. Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary and yet somehow lovable. “

My comments:  I love, love, love this line - can't get enough of it.  Mr. Utterson rules!

Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice – “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

My comments:  There's the whole book right there, huh?  No but really...the statement, the tone everything about this book starts right here and I love it.  I'm sorta weird about this book.  I think I have about 6 copies of it maybe more...

P.C. Cast’s Marked – “Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any worse I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker.”

My comments:  This was a cute YA novel, not my favorite but I adored the opening line.  I actually preferred to read more about the dead guy than anything else. 

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”


My comments: The best part is the "thank you very much."  The tone is brilliant.  Every time I read this one, it puts a smile on my face.

(My Review)

Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis – “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic vermin.”

My comments:  First of all, I loved this book.  It was inventive, hilarious and pathetic all wrapped into one.  Great opening line. 




There are tons more of websites that feature best novel opening lines out there. Feel free to check out a few others here or here. I’m curious to all my readers out there.  Which opening line is your favorite?  Do you put much stock in an opening line?

Mina B.

A Creepy Classic Review: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

This month’s Creepy Classic is Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  I honestly never have read this story before and vaguely recall various film depictions of the story.  And from what I did recollect, the tale was about a mad scientist, Dr. Jekyll, who drinks a potion and becomes the nefarious Mr. Hyde. Oh, how the original delves much deeper than that.


The book starts off with Mr. Utterson; one of Dr. Jekyll’s old school chums that’s described as probably one of the best openings I’ve read in a book in a long time. “Mr. Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty, and embarrassed in discourse; backyard in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary and yet somehow loveable.” And boy was he ever likeable. Utterson’s a little obsessive and possibly a stalker at times, but the poor guy does so because he’s concerned for his friend, Dr. Jekyll. As the executor of Dr. Jekyll’s will, Mr. Utterson is troubled by the notion that his friend, Dr. Jekyll - in the event of his disappearance – would leave all his belongings, assets and so forth to that of a stranger, this Mr. Edward Hyde.

And what’s to make of this strange man, Mr. Hyde? As described in the original, he’s not as all as Hollywood describes. He’s odd, no doubt, small frame and sinister nature, yet as Stevenson put it in Utterson’s terms: “Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation…” And one of my favorite passages after Utterson is confounded by his first meeting with Jekyll’s creepy friend, he surmises “Jekyll, if ever I read Satan’s signature upon a face it is on that of your new friend.”
While Utterson continues down the path of discovery, pursuing Mr. Hyde incognito, I was reminded by the classic phrase I’d forgotten, “If he be Mr. Hyde,” he had thought, “I shall be Mr. Seek.” Oh, I love that passage. It’s such a classic it needed to be repeated.

As the story unveils more bizarre occurrences with the good natured, Dr. Jekyll and then the evil-spirited, Mr. Hyde, Utterson grows more and more perplexed. Utterson then seeks input from another of Dr. Jekyll’s friends – Dr. Lanyon.  Soon, both men get entangled in their mutual friend’s “unscientific balderdash” which results in Lanyon’s untimely death.

What I enjoyed most about this short story, other than the buildup, was the reasoning as to why Dr. Jekyll did it. We all know it’s about potions or scientific concoctions, etc… but was it all in the name of science? Or was it the deeper moral issue that drove Dr. Jekyll’s insane motives to create a drug that could alter his ego so wickedly?  I won’t ruin it for you. You’ll just have to read this book. It was such a simple read that it shouldn't take too long to get through it. And for the love of Peter, it’s a free book that you can find most anywhere online or dare I say in the library.

On the Mina Burrows KilloMeter, I give Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde a 4.
Until next time…read something creepy, read a Creepy Classic.
Mina B.