A short descent into duality, fear, and the animal within
Few stories from the late Victorian era still feel as sharp and modern as The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. It’s a compact novel — almost a long tale — but it carries an entire universe of moral tension: the polite surface of society, the secret impulses underneath, and the terrifying ease with which one can slip from one self to another.
What Stevenson does here isn’t just gothic atmosphere.
It’s a study of duplicity: the public mask vs. the hidden creature, the respectable doctor vs. the “ape-like fury” that erupts from the man he tries to bury.
Hyde isn’t described through clichés. He’s something worse — “troglodytic, hardly human”. A presence that provokes instinctive disgust in everyone who sees him, the embodiment of impulses a society pretends not to have.
Below you can listen to the full audiobook (public domain), narrated on LibriVox:
Prefer a printed book?
If you want a physical edition, Penguin Classics offers an excellent paperback that includes Jekyll & Hyde plus other short stories by Stevenson.
It’s a clean, durable edition with notes and a structure that helps you explore Stevenson’s darker, stranger corners beyond the famous novella.
Ideal if you enjoy collecting curated paperbacks or want to keep this story on your shelf.
If Zehnlicht’s books, films and soundfiction mean something to you, you can support the project by subscribing or with a one-time donation.
Subscribing starts at US$1 and is the easiest way to help keep the site independent and ad-free.
One-time donations are also welcome.
