From the acclaimed author of the bestselling Italian Fever and award winning Property, comes a fresh twist on the classic Jekyll and Hyde story, a novel told from the perspective of Mary Reilly, Dr. Jekyll’s dutiful and intelligent housemaid. Faithfully weaving in details from Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic, Martin introduces an original and captivating character: Mary is a … captivating character: Mary is a survivor–scarred but still strong–familiar with evil, yet brimming with devotion and love. As a bond grows between Mary and her tortured employer, she is sent on errands to unsavory districts of London and entrusted with secrets she would rather not know. Unable to confront her hideous suspicions about Dr. Jekyll, Mary ultimately proves the lengths to which she’ll go to protect him. Through her astute reflections, we hear the rest of the classic Jekyll and Hyde story, and this familiar tale is made more terrifying than we remember it, more complex than we imagined possible.
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Kindly Dr. Henry Jekyll is doing something mysterious in his backyard laboratory. And who is the strange and frightening Edward Hyde who appears when Dr. Jekyll isn’t around? This old story is brought vividly to life through the eyes of Mary Reilly, Dr. Jekyll’s smart and observant maid. Remarkably, the author manages to put the Jekyll/Hyde plotline in the background with a sharp focus on the sexual/psychological suspense Mary experiences. This is a story of seduction, as the vulnerable Mary is drawn ever closer the friendly (excessively so?) “Master” of the house. Don’t confuse the book with the horrible movie, for which Julia Roberts received a worst-actress nomination.
Great read. Very interesting looking from a different perspective. Highly recommend.
I was intrigued by this gothic gem after watching the film adaptation starring John Malkovich and Julia Roberts. I read it in two days. This novel is based off Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, told from the perspective of one of the housemaids, Mary Reilly in a journal/diary style. Mary is a lonely tortured soul who suffered awful abuse from her drunken father. He would lock her up in a cupboard and throw rats in with her causing her to have scars (outward and inward) that still plague her. Mary works really hard, getting up at dawn, falling asleep dog tired but manages to write her experiences down. She begins to have feelings for her employer, “Master” meaning Dr Jekyll after he asks to examine her scars. After this encounter, Jekyll informs his staff that he will be taking in an assistant, Mr Edward Hyde to support him with his experiments. He is everything Jekyll isn’t – mean spirited, animalistic and incredibly violent. So much that Mary is a witness to the aftermath of one of his crimes where he mutilates a prostitute.
The film is mostly faithful to the book. I preferred Mary’s character development in the novel than in the film. The relationship between Hyde and Mary is fleshed out in the film, there’s no erotic dream or passionate kiss between the two of them. In the book, Mary is not attracted to Hyde in the slightest, she’s repulsed and afraid of him but deeply loves Dr Jekyll. I don’t read much historical fiction but I loved the authenticity and the way Mary’s voice was written. Martin clearly did her research, including the subtlety of the hierarchy in the servant household, e.g. Mr Poole, the head servant talking down to Mary and the others because he’s worked for Dr Jekyll so he must know best and getting jealousy when Jekyll asks for Mary and not for him. This was a great retelling of a very old but still relevant horror story.
I really enjoyed this as it was a different viewpoint on a classic story.