Abraham Rothberg Libros

"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.