I'd say most people would be familiar with Robert Louis Stevenson - this and 'Treasure Island' especially have been widely read and loved for a long time. Having now read 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' it's not hard to see why he has such broad appeal. Stevenson is a superb storyteller and his writing effortlessly draws the reader in without being overly grandiose or meandering. The evil Mr. Hyde is brought to life more clearly throughout the story in terms of both Dr. Jekyll's mind and body, with some wonderful and effective descriptions. As is usually the case with popular stories the ending is pretty much spoiled and I would have loved to have been able to read it without already knowing the basic story. This seems to be especially true for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde the way things are gradually revealed throughout.

Although it could be argued the story could use more depth, this really is a very entertaining read. The theme of humans' capacity for both good and evil is a fairly obvious one but readily relatable to the reader. It is Robert Louis Stevenson's ability to create such a succinct and illustrative story around the internal struggle is what I feel makes this book so notable however.