Beautifully told tales, a perfect introduction to Shakespeare's greatest plays. Charles and Mary Lamb's labour of love brings vividly alive the power of Hamlet and Othello, the fun of As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew, the magic of The Tempest and the drama of Pericles. Conveying all Shakespeare's wit, wisdom and humanity, and never losing the feel of his beautiful language, these tales are classic literature in their own right.
"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," published in 1886, became a bestseller with 40,000 copies sold in six months. The story is inspired by the true tale of Deacon Brodie, an Edinburgh carpenter who led a secret double life and ultimately faced execution. Stevenson had previously written a play about this case as a teenager, titled "Deacon Brodie, or The Double Life." The impetus for the novella came from a vivid dream in late September or early October 1885, after which Stevenson quickly drafted a version. While recovering in Bournemouth, he experienced a health crisis just before the dream and wrote feverishly. His wife criticized the initial draft, prompting Stevenson to burn it and produce an allegorical second version within a week. The narrative combines various stylistic levels, with a distinct tone in the narrator's voice compared to the inserted documents, showcasing Stevenson's stylistic virtuosity, which needed to be faithfully preserved in translation.