The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale takes to intriguing extremes the widely-held belief that everyone has good and bad sides. First published in 1886, the story is justly famous; it has spawned countless stage and film adaptations and "Jekyll and Hyde" has entered the English language as an epithet for someone whose personality oscillates between extremes. Stevenson's tale was inspired by the true story of Edinburgh cabinet maker and locksmith, William (Deacon) Brodie, a respected businessman by day and thief by night. Brodie was caught and hanged in 1788, on gallows that many believe he himself helped to design.