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Article: Slinger of ink; Robert Louis Stevenson.(A new biography of Robert Louis Stevenson)(Book Review)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- January 29, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A man who, by turns, was seductive and infuriating
IN 1885 Robert Louis Stevenson dreamed a "fine boguey tale" that in a matter of weeks had been turned into one of the most famous stories ever published--indeed, so famous, Claire Harman says, that it hardly needs to be read at all. At its heart is not just a shocking story of evil and transformation, but also a crystallisation of man's greatest dilemma, his relationship with himself. "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" exposes, as Dr Jekyll himself says, "the thorough and primitive duality of man". The strength of Ms Harman's new biography is how it engagingly explores in fresh detail how the conscious ...