Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
This is a very well known story that I don’t recall ever reading, but I knew the premise of, which made me question if I had read it. I think most likely we discussed it in school at some point.
Dr. Jekyll is seeking to find a way to split his good side and bad side into two people. He succeeds and is able to transform himself into Mr. Hyde, who is purely evil. However Jekyll soon loses control of his ability to turn himself back into Jekyll. Hyde commits a brutal murder. Jekyll tries to fend off his transformation into Hyde permanently but accepts his fate that it will not happen. He writes a confession explaining his motive and transformation and that it was Hyde who committed the murder.
Throughout the book, people get glimpses of Hyde walking around and are very fearful of him. Early on, he is witnessed trampling over a young girl who is out on the streets for example. It is only upon reading the confession of Jekyll that they learn that he is both Jekyll and Hyde.