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    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (The Classic Unabridged Edition): Psychological thriller by the prolific Scottish novelist, poet and travel writer, author of Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Catriona, The Black Arrow and A Child's Garden of Verses
    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (The Classic Unabridged Edition): Psychological thriller by the prolific Scottish novelist, poet and travel writer, author of Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Catriona, The Black Arrow and A Child's Garden of Verses
    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (The Classic Unabridged Edition): Psychological thriller by the prolific Scottish novelist, poet and travel writer, author of Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Catriona, The Black Arrow and A Child's Garden of Verses
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    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (The Classic Unabridged Edition): Psychological thriller by the prolific Scottish novelist, poet and travel writer, author of Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Catriona, The Black Arrow and A Child's Garden of Verses

    By Robert Louis Stevenson

    3.5/5

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    This carefully crafted ebook: "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (The Classic Unabridged Edition)" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is the original title of a novella written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson that was first published in 1886. The work is commonly known today as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or simply Jekyll & Hyde. It is about a London lawyer named Gabriel John Utterson, who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll and the evil Edward Hyde. The work is commonly associated with the rare mental condition often called "split personality" where, within the same body, there exists more than one distinct personality. Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. His most famous works are Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. A literary celebrity during his lifetime, Stevenson now ranks among the 26 most translated authors in the world.
    LanguageEnglish
    Publishere-artnow
    Release dateJul 31, 2017
    ISBN9788026836667
    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (The Classic Unabridged Edition): Psychological thriller by the prolific Scottish novelist, poet and travel writer, author of Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Catriona, The Black Arrow and A Child's Garden of Verses
    Author

    Robert Louis Stevenson

    Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) spent his childhood in Edinburgh, Scotland, but traveled widely in the United States and throughout the South Seas. He was author of many novels, including The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Kidnapped, The Black Arrow, and Treasure Island.

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    Reviews for The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (The Classic Unabridged Edition)

    3.5/5

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    • 3/5
      A strange, deformed man haunts the streets, trampling over fallen children and seemingly wresting money from the good Dr. Jekyll to escape the consequences of his misdeeds. Jekyll has even gone so far as to make this mysterious Mr. Hyde the sole benefactor of his will, against all advice from Mr. Utterson, his lawyer. Utterson suspects blackmail, and he's determined not to rest until he's helped his dear friend and client escape with his life. For surely, he thinks, Hyde must be tempted to murder Jekyll in order to usurp him. Utterson doesn't know how right he is, though not at all in the way that he suspects.The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a classic horror novel, and one that has been referenced so often in modern culture that I knew its biggest secret going in. For me, the surprises and the appeal were in discovering the way in which the story was told. Much of the plot involves watching Mr. Utterson and others slowly uncovering the mystery, and, for me, this resulted in a very interesting dramatic irony. I knew exactly what the characters were missing, but I didn't know all the twists and turns of the plot, how the characters would react to them, or how the story would reach its end. For me, this was enough to maintain interest, and I think other readers would have a similar experience if they have only a surface-level knowledge of the plot.This is a short book, certainly a quick read, and I found it to be a good example of British literature of the nineteenth century. Characters’ physical descriptions are meant to signify aspects of their personalities, houses and the weather are likewise described with obvious symbolism, the omniscient narrator tells you what the characters are like, and the characters have over-the-top reactions whenever anything remotely horrifying happens. Because of this, combined with how easy it is to read, I think it would make a great introductory book for anyone looking to get into British classics from the same time period without immediately jumping in the deep end.I also found it interesting as a window into the past, seeing how people lived and spoke and how they told their stories. I would recommend it if you have a similar interest, or if, somehow, you actually don't know the secret behind this particular mystery. If that's the case, I recommend you go out and read it right now. You're sure to have an experience worth talking about.
    • 4/5
      A classic later surpassed by many but at the time, very original and quite good.
    • 3/5
      I read this using my Serial reader app and I was really happy with it!

      I knew it was a classic, and, much like classics, it was a book that I'd always meant to read, or intended to read but never actually read.

      I loved the atmosphere that Stevenson created. His somehow empty, foggy, cacophonous London was brought to life. I didn't find the language too hard or difficult to follow at all, which surprised me. I liked the tension for the majority of the novel -- Stevenson crafted tension through letters, confessionals and those late-night walks around London where all sorts of horrors happen.

      I didn't care too much for the characters, but I definitely admired the author's writing, his language and how accessible the book is after all this time.

      Even though I knew the ending, I still found it readable and hope you do too. c:
    • 4/5
      This book truly does earn the title of "classic". It has suspense, interesting characters, a fine storyline, and something that some books that are considered "classics" are lacking: a point. You could argue about whether the true demon of the story is man's nature, science, or the Promethian tendency of the eponimous doctor. However, the essence of the story is the classic "tradgedy" plotline: the hubris of the lead character leads to his downfall. I do emphasize the word "tragedy" in my review, as it's definitely not a happy-fun-time kind of book. But if you don't go into it expecting that, you will probably be perfectly satisified. In the end, I would say that the main flaw of this book is that it is infuriatingly short. You could almost complain that this book is nothing more than an extended short story. However, from another viewpoint this could be a virtue; what's better than a classic novel that can be read in less than two hours?
    • 5/5
      Great story. I was very surprised that the chronology was reversed. It starts at the end and works its way forward, a device that none of the knock-off versions of this tale use. A master story teller.
    • 3/5
      I love the story. However, since nearly 98% of the population is familiar with this story, it is kind of a drag to read this since you know how everything unfolds. I also didn't find the way in which the story was told very captivating. It is such a thin book, and I had a terrible time getting through it. I actually skipped parts in this book because they were so dreadfully boring.
    • 5/5
      It is said that Robert Louis Stevenson revised A Child's Garden of Verses and wrote Kidnapped and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in a time span of under two years--if only all of us could be so productive! This is a very short book and can easily be read in a few hours, so I encourage you to read it if you have not. I was very surprised I waited this long myself.It tells the story of how Dr. Jekyll conducted an experiment to separate the evil and the good in his personality. Mr. Hyde was the result of his evil side coming out. Dr. Jekyll's appearance was so altered that he was unrecognizable--both in appearance and actions. What was very interesting to me was that the experiment was done not just for "scientific research", but because Dr. Jekyll admitted to actually enjoying his more sinful side. He wanted to separate the two personalities, in other words, so he could participate in the evil activities while still considering his "real self" to be essentially good. Of course he eventually loses control of the experiment with disastrous results. This simple tale teaches us the true nature of good and evil and our propensity to desire sin. It should be read by all!
    • 4/5
      "There comes an end to all things; the most capacious measure is filled at last; and this brief condescension to my evil finally destroyed the balance of my soul."It may be difficult for a reader to forget what is half-known about these famous characters, and approach this story afresh. But it's worth doing -- it's a tidy little story, and the title characters embody an intriguing attack on the nature of Victorian morality.
    • 3/5
      I liked this book. It is a classic that deserves to be read and it took me about an hour to read it. Now I wonder why it took me so long to start reading it in the first place. Because it is a classic, I already knew what the end was going to be like, I already knew that Jekyll and Hyde were the same person, but that didn't mean I wasn't a bit shocked at the moral of this story. I like the way the story is built up and I like the main character, Mr Utterson as well. It is a story that lingers in your mind after you've finished it.
    • 5/5
      Although I already knew what happens in this tale, I found it a gripping read and the climax very effective. I enjoyed the quaint Victorian language and moral values.The weather updates to be found throughout the narrative feature colourful metaphors and similes that I hadn't seen before. This book would be useful reading for anyone who would like to make conversation with people as obsessed with climatic conditions as Robert Louis Stevenson clearly was. It'd be a good book for a flight to the UK.
    • 2/5
      The idea I had in my head about this story was better than the actual book. I was a little disappointed.
    • 5/5
      very entertaining story about the dark side of man. actually kind of freaky.. nicely done.
    • 4/5
      Jekyll and Hyde is a cultural landmark for English speaking peoples, yet while the basic premise of the story must be known to all, I heretofore had never sat down and read the work in its original. It is interesting to see how our preconceptions can mingle with reality. Rather than a book of violent rampages from a large and monstrous Mr. Hyde, it is a very subtle work of slowly built suspense and chilling horror, far from the typical Hollywood caricature given to Mr. Hyde. And though not a hugely profound work, the portrayal of the fight between a man's passions and his reason was richer than the black and white, good versus evil I had assumed it would be. Since this work is very short in nature, more of a novella than a true novel, I would recommend anyone who knows the story to pick it up and give it a read, it might just change your perspective the next time your presented with the poorly drawn caricatures.
    • 4/5
      Stevenson paints a very dark and bleak picture of London. His language makes the story very claustrophobic and although I came at this book already knowing the plot, I found that the understated writing style made it all just a touch more scary than I'd expected. Best read alone on a rainy night, under a blanket.
    • 5/5
      I wish people still wrote this way. Or at least, still wrote this way WELL.Just the first sentence is great. Stevenson really has a great way of describing people, both physically and characteristically.One of the most interesting things about this story is all the possibilities and underlying meanings you can get from it. The way Jekyll refers to both of his personalities in third person, his underlying thirst for and pleasure in evil, his addiction to Hyde, etc. It's actually pretty dark, and I'm sure we can all agree that Jekyll is a bit on the crazy side.But there's definitely a reason that Jekyll and Hyde have become household names and inspiration to countless stories and characters.
    • 3/5
      Beautifully written and exquisitely deep, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde turns out to be more than just a horror book set out to disturb people suffering from OCD and Christians alike with its implication that self-control in relation to our temptations and impulses is one of the only things keeping us from turning into human equivalents of D&D pleasure-seeking demons. There's a bit more to this idea of course, as certain factors add for some ambiguity and complexity, such as Nabakov's mentioning in the intro to the book that Dr. Jekyll is neither completely "good", nor is Hyde completely "evil", with one of the more interesting lines in the book, at least in its relation to Freudian theory, being Hyde's response of "with pleasure" to someone asking a favor of him. There are other interesting aspects as well, such as the fact that Hyde's "evil" acts were most often not out of pleasure (or perhaps never?), but rather out of impulsive fits of rage. This is one quip I have with the book, as it's never really explained why Hyde goes into his "causeless angers", other than a small diatribe talking about him treating his victims like an angered child interacting with a toy. It's possible I may have missed the attribution to his killings, but otherwise, a killer without motive other than "hulk smash" at random moments of impatience, because that's apparently how we all naturally are, is a bit uninteresting. Thesis aside, other things worth mentioning are the incredible use of perspective changing, which may certainly be a surprise even to those (i.e., most) who know the basic idea of the story; the almost, once again as Nabokov says, poetic quality of prose at times; the great, dark, European, Victorian scene setting; and the perhaps uncommon combination of horror and murder mystery genres. Good stuff overall and certainly chilling at times, would definitely say it's one of the better classics I've read and enjoyed, even if many of it's psychological claims are outdated, or not even remotely something I and some others would agree with in certain aspects.
    • 5/5
      I first read this tale as a child (I was a precocious and voracious reader). I was in my stage of being fascinated by horror movies so I couldn't wait to read this. I was simultaneously delighted and disappointed. The disappointement stemmed from the lack of lurid action. I wanted a monster. But I was enthralled by the notion that psychological monsters might be even worse. I was only in 5th grade - I had never thought of that. And of course, there was the masterful writing. While I didn't read just junk, I also hadn't been exposed to much great writing and this was among the best I'd read up to that point. It was well constructed and masterfully handled. I couldn't have expressed it such at the time, but I knew I was reading something good.
    • 4/5
      Since references to the basic plot points of this story are so pervasive in popular culture, it's impossible to read this story for the first time without an awareness of what is to come. The removal of the element of suspense leaves the story flat, and its conclusion drags due to a lengthy revelation. While this revelation diluted the story's emotional effect for me, its content intrigued me. Jekyll's description of his tortured mind is infused with both theological and psychological themes. I'm not the first person to notice this. I discovered several articles in theological journals comparing its themes to Romans 7, and I'm sure I would have similar results in a search of the psychological literature. The audio version didn't work well for me because it didn't allow me to pause for reflection. I'll read a print edition next time.
    • 4/5
      I'm not sure the original Hyde lives up to the figure of threat and evil that pop culture has made him over the years. But this novel is short and fairly suspenseful — or it would be, if I didn't already know the answer to the mystery of Mr. Hyde and why Dr. Jekyll is protecting him. The story is quick and it's a classic worth visiting.
    • 4/5
      Pop culture had long ago given me the gist of this story but reading the original classic was an entirely different experience. A very well-paced and well-written piece of horror fiction. I especially enjoyed that the viewpoint comes from a third-party - Doctor Jekyll's lawyer - who is sleuthing around trying to get to the bottom of this 'Mr. Hyde' business. What he discovers will haunt him for the rest of his life.
    • 3/5
      A short Novella that digs into the Psychology of the angelic man, made before the fall; and the dirty creatures, that lies in all humans. The psychology developed and explained here is great. If you are looking for a long read, this will not suffice.
    • 4/5
      A quick read of good and evil; Jekyll and Hyde. A classic use of the double.
    • 3/5
      This story had to be ground-breaking in its day, but it seems a bit dated now. I enjoyed it though. It had the feel of a Sherlock Holmes mystery.
    • 4/5
      Nice short read. Even though you know the ending ten pages in, I still enjoyed it.
    • 3/5
      I remember reading this for the first time when I was a schoolgirl in 1982 and being tremendously impressed with the story about a Dr. Jekyll who invents a special potion which transforms him into his horrible alter-ego Mr. Hyde and goes so far as changing him physically into a shorter man, uglier and with a bad and violent character. I remember being under the spell of the gothic horror elements of the story, but somehow, reading it again this month didn't have the same charm at all. Not quite sure why. For one thing, the first half of the story is told by someone else, and we don't quite get to know what has happened to Jekyll nor Hyde, and I supposed I was impatient getting to the goods, so to speak. I'll try revisiting it in another 30 years and perhaps meet with better success next time!
    • 2/5
      thr first 9 chapters of this 10 chapter book are just a forward to the final explanation what happens to the doctor. i kind of knew thr story but wanted to know why the change happens and how and of course how it ends. well, in chapter 10 i got the why and how answered. however no real end to the story. i think it would be better if yiu dont know anything about the story to enjoy this book.
    • 5/5
      Elegantly told and suspenseful, this classic story certainly stands the test of time. I read the Keynotes Classics edition. I especially appreciated the introductory key written by Michelle M. White. She provides interesting information about the author and offers valuable suggestions about what to look for in the story. As a result, I believe I got much more from this reading than I did when I first read it. Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      I am watching the new season of Penny Dreadful and they are featuring Dr. Jekyll this year. I realized I have never read this book, so I decided to pick it up in preparation for the show.

      The writing feels very dense, and the pacing is slow. The reader slowly gets a feeling of dread, rather than outright scares. This is common with many of the horror stories of the period that I have read.

      The story is interesting, with much musing on the nature of good and evil. It was a bit slower paced than I like, but this is a short book and easy to read in a day.
    • 3/5
      Behold: the regal and mystery that is The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, if only I found it regaling and mysterious. A notable classic whose references still hold widely popular, the mystery has been stripped away—even for someone such as myself, who has never watched a film adaption. I am, however, familiar with the story and duality Jekyll and Hyde represent. Although far from a purely angelic being, Jekyll is neither good nor bad. What Dr. Jekyll equates to is an ambitious scientist who incidentally unleashes an evil from within himself. Now released, to be contained and muted beneath Jekyll’s morals and persona doesn’t appeal to the conscienceless Mr. Hyde. Confined in one body, a great struggle for dominance between two entities ensues, and what Jekyll might’ve hoped would be his success threatens his very life and reputation.

      My devil had long been caged, he came out roaring.

      This much I knew, as should everyone else. The puzzle piece is continually exploited and its references bomb pop culture. The mystery, then, is no longer a mystery. The shock value is nulled, but I didn’t read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde to hitch a ride on supposed thrill. Of course I liked the idea of knocking out another classic from my to-read list, but I also sought horror and hoped to be a first-hand witness to Jekyll’s torment. What I read, unfortunately, does not match up to what I had hoped to read. Where is the fright? The anguish in Jekyll’s eyes? Hyde’s fear and pursuit for control?

      I found that it’s impossible to observe any of this because Stevenson denies his readers access. Some may disagree with my statement, but we—the readers—find ourselves strapped to Mr. Utterson’s side, hearing the story mostly through his account. (And in past tense no less.) Trapped in an outsider’s perspective, I, too—like Mr. Utterson—become a third party to the events of Jekyll and Hyde. I cannot observe the one most intriguing aspect, and everything I looked forward to reading about was crushed by Robert Louis Stevenson. Or, depending on how you look at it, Hollywood excelled in raising the standards of my expectations.

      Mr. Hyde, as it turns out, is not the monster I expected. Stevenson only provides rare glimpses of the man, which does nothing to indulge my fantasy of an incorrigible evil that stalks nighttime streets. More importantly: rather than the individual of Jekyll or Hyde, what gives this novella power is the interrelationship between the two forces. Hyde begins as a dormant entity that emerges as a ruthless tyrant, growing to completely replace Dr. Jekyll. I am left in a disappointed state, because I believe the split individual(s)—the doctor and his freed cruelty—deserves spotlight. Had Stevenson wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde differently, the duality of human nature could have been more deeply explored.

      This is not to say I don’t enjoy or appreciate the theme. I did, in fact, take pleasure in reading this despite frustrations. The idea that people contain an alter ego, or two opposite forces, skulking beneath the public display of themselves is an interesting thought to tamper with. Although I had obvious disappointment—almost an anticlimactic experience—this literary work is long-standing and continues to see success. It remains a classic, and I feel that its references in popular culture will outlive many of us, which I think is enough reason to read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde at least once. I certainly don’t regret the short little while it took me to finish Stevenson’s story, and I’m quite glad I set aside the time.

      This, as I take it, was because all human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil: and Edward Hyde, alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil.

      This review and more can be read at Midnight Coffee Monster.
    • 4/5
      I last read this book for a university assignment and visited it again for a Library Thing reading challenge. On this reading, I did not enjoy the style and structure nearly as much as previously. But I come away considering the imprint this work has had on our society. I am struck by its origins in a dream and its historical position as a precursor to Sigmund Freud's conceptualization of unconscious, socially unacceptable urges as drives of the id. And I consider Stevenson's warning as, in this century, we embrace an ever-increasing pace of scientific and technological advancement:But the temptation of a discovery so singular and profound at last overcame the suggestions of alarm.I will maintain my previous rating of 8 out of 10 stars, not for reading pleasure or literary structure, but as acknowledgment of its continuing legacy and provocative portrait of man's duality.

    Book preview

    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (The Classic Unabridged Edition) - Robert Louis Stevenson

    Story of the Door

    Table of Contents

    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. At friendly meetings, and when the wine was to his taste, something eminently human beaconed from his eye; something indeed which never found its way into his talk, but which spoke not only in these silent symbols of the after-dinner face, but more often and loudly in the acts of his life. He was austere with himself; drank gin when he was alone, to mortify a taste for vintages; and though he enjoyed the theater, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years. But he had an approved tolerance for others; sometimes wondering, almost with envy, at the high pressure of spirits involved in their misdeeds; and in any extremity inclined to help rather than to reprove. I incline to Cain’s heresy, he used to say quaintly: I let my brother go to the devil in his own way. In this character, it was frequently his fortune to be the last reputable acquaintance and the last good influence in the lives of downgoing men. And to such as these, so long as they came about his chambers, he never marked a shade of change in his demeanour.

    No doubt the feat was easy to Mr. Utterson; for he was undemonstrative at the best, and even his friendship seemed to be founded in a similar catholicity of good-nature. It is the mark of a modest man to accept his friendly circle ready-made from the hands of opportunity; and that was the lawyer’s way. His friends were those of his own blood or those whom he had known the longest; his affections, like ivy, were the growth of time, they implied no aptness in the object. Hence, no doubt the bond that united him to Mr. Richard Enfield, his distant kinsman, the well-known man about town. It was a nut to crack for many, what these two could see in each other, or what subject they could find in common. It was reported by those who encountered them in their Sunday walks, that they said nothing, looked singularly dull and would hail with obvious relief the appearance of a friend. For all that, the two men put the greatest store by these excursions, counted them the chief jewel of each week, and not only set aside occasions of pleasure, but even resisted the calls of business, that they might enjoy them uninterrupted.

    It chanced on one of these rambles that their way led them down a bystreet in a busy quarter of London. The street was small and what is called quiet, but it drove a thriving trade on the weekdays. The inhabitants were all doing well, it seemed and all emulously hoping to do better still, and laying out the surplus of their grains in coquetry; so that the shop fronts stood along that thoroughfare with an air of invitation, like rows of smiling saleswomen. Even on Sunday, when it veiled its more florid charms and lay comparatively empty of passage, the street shone out in contrast to its dingy neighbourhood, like a fire in a forest; and with its freshly painted shutters, well-polished brasses, and general cleanliness and gaiety of note, instantly caught and pleased the eye of the passenger.

    Two doors from one corner, on the left hand going east the line was broken by the entry of a court; and just at that point a certain sinister block of building thrust forward its gable on the street. It was two storeys high; showed no window, nothing but a door on the lower storey and a blind forehead of discoloured wall on the upper; and bore in every feature, the marks of prolonged and sordid negligence. The door, which was equipped with neither bell nor knocker, was blistered and distained. Tramps slouched into the recess and struck matches on the panels; children kept shop upon the steps; the schoolboy had tried his knife on the mouldings; and for close on a generation, no one had appeared to drive away these random visitors or to repair their ravages.

    Mr. Enfield and the lawyer were on the other side of the bystreet; but when they came abreast of the entry, the former lifted up his cane and pointed.

    Did you ever remark that door? he asked; and when his companion had replied in the affirmative. It is connected in my mind, added he, with a very odd story.

    Indeed? said Mr. Utterson, with a slight change of voice, and what was that?

    Well, it was this way, returned Mr. Enfield: "I was coming home from some place at the end of the world, about three o’clock of a black winter morning, and my way lay through a part of town where there was literally nothing to be seen but lamps. Street after street and all the folks asleep — street after street, all lighted up as if for a procession and all as empty as a church — till at last I got into that state of mind when a man listens and listens and begins to long for the sight of a policeman. All at once, I saw two figures: one a little man who was stumping along eastward at a good walk, and the other a girl of maybe eight or ten who was running as hard as she was able down a cross street. Well, sir, the two ran into one another naturally enough at the corner; and then came the horrible part of the thing; for the man trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her screaming on the ground. It sounds nothing to hear, but it was hellish to see. It wasn’t like a man; it was like some damned Juggernaut. I gave a few halloa, took to my heels, collared my gentleman, and brought him back to where there was already quite a group about the screaming child. He was perfectly cool and made no resistance, but gave me one look, so ugly that it brought out the sweat on me like running. The people who had turned out were the girl’s own family; and pretty soon, the doctor, for whom she had been sent put in his appearance. Well, the child was not much the worse, more frightened, according to the Sawbones; and there you might have supposed would be an end to it. But there was one curious circumstance. I had taken a loathing to my gentleman at first sight. So had the child’s family, which was only natural. But the doctor’s case was what struck me. He was the usual cut and dry apothecary, of no particular age and colour, with a strong Edinburgh accent and about as emotional as a bagpipe. Well, sir, he was like the rest of us; every time he looked at my prisoner, I saw that Sawbones turn sick and white with desire to kill him. I knew what was in his mind, just as he knew what was in mine; and killing being out of the question, we did the next best. We told the man we could and would make such a scandal out of this as should make his name stink from one end of London to the other. If he had any friends or any credit, we undertook that he should lose them. And all the time, as we were pitching it in red hot, we were keeping the women off him as best we could for they were as wild as harpies. I never saw a circle of

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