ELLERY QUEEN'S COPY. A very well restored copy with excellent provenance, preserved in a bespoke solander box. A Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone and basis for several films, including John S. Robertson's 1920 adaptation providing John Barrymore with a career-defining role.

One of the author's most enduring works (the other being Treasure Island), Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was an immediate success and helped cement Stevenson's reputation. The work is decidedly 'dark' in classification since it presents a jarring and horrific exploration of various conflicting traits lurking within a single person. The success of the book enjoys longevity in its international acclaim, inspiring countless stage productions and more than 100 films.

The book was in fact ready in December 1885 but because 'the bookstalls were already full of Christmas numbers, etc. and the trade would not look at it, publication was postponed until January 1886 and the date on the cover altered by the pen' (Mr. Charles Longman in Balfour's Life, ii, 14). 'Until 1886 [Stevenson] had never earned much...by his pen. But in that year came two successes that greatly increased his reputation and with it his power to earn. These were The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Kidnapped. Tthe former, founded partly on a dream, is a striking apologue of the double-life of man. The success of these two tales, both with the critics and the public, established Stevenson's position at the head of the younger English writers of his day' (DNB).

First edition, first issue with wrapper correction in ink by the publisher, small 8vo., [viii], 141, [1, blank] pp., (lacking final leaf, K8, with advertisements), signed by Frederic Dannay on the half-title as Barnaby Ross and Ellery Queen, pseudonyms for works co-written with his cousin, Manfred B. Lee, publisher's perfect binding in original light brown wrappers printed in red and blue, rebacked in matching paper, wrappers lightly soiled, edges lightly worn with a couple of short closed tears and soft marginal creases, restoration to inner margin of final leaf, page edges lightly worn with occasional minor, marginal soiling, contemporary owner signature to title-page, else very good.