Mary Reilly

Fanfiction that dramatically improves its source material is really, really good fanfiction. I first read this ten or so years ago and liked it, but I just reread this alongside The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which I'd never read before, for book group. What a fantastic reading experience, and what a great follow-up conversation. This is the first time I can recall every member of my book group loving the book.

I read this book years ago when it first came out and reread it now for a course I am teaching. It's the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, told from the viewpoint of a young Irish housemaid. In Stevenson's novel, there are hardly any women, and those who do appear are pretty much part of the furniture. By creating a female narrator who works in Jekyll's household, Martin opens up the novel to other themes, including the Victorian patriarchy, the social hierarchy, hidden sexuality, the craving for safety. She also allows her characters greater psychological depth. Mary is depicted as a strong girl, made stronger by enduring years of abuse from her father. She knows her place yet can't help but be stirred by the apparent interest of her show more kind, elderly employer. Despite her revulsion, she is also attracted to Dr. Jekyll's assistant, the crude and violent Mr. Hyde--mainly because of what he seems to mean to Jekyll.

I enjoyed the novel--but not as much as I did the first time. Thankfully, it was new to all of my students. I found it interesting that most of the men preferred Stevenson's fairly straightforward approach to the story, while the women preferred Martin's more complex approach. They are writing papers on the two books, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they have to say. show less

I knew the basic plot of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but hadn't read Robert Louis Stevenson's classic before reading this book. It's not necessary though--not with that book being so much part of popular culture. You just need to know that Dr. Jekyll, who seems a kind, philanthropic physician is also Mr. Hyde, a monster of depravity let loose by a potion. Knowing just that, you can get the richness and irony of seeing this story from the point of view of a young Irish maid in Dr. Jekyll's service. So yes, this is fanfic of the classic type, such as Jean Rhy's Wild Sargasso Sea, based upon Jane Eyre, that takes a minor (or in this case, I think) an imagined character and subverts and/or illuminates the original. While I don't think this is show more quite the work of enduring literature that Rhy's book is, neither is this some trashy read. It's quite well-written and a surprisingly affecting story, told in a great first person voice and with well-done period detail. The books stands well on its own. show less

The story of how Dr. Jekyll's strange experiments affected his household, told in the journals of a maid who considered him her protector. Mary is a very sympathetic narrator, and I wished I could share her hope that everything would eventually be right with her Master.
October 2013

Faithfully weaving in details from Robert Louis Stevenson's classic, Martin introduces an original and captivating character: Mary Reilly 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. Summary HPL

I show more love it when an author reimagines a well-known story--here THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE--from a disenfranchised character's point of view--here a servant girl employed in Dr. Jekyll's household. Ms Martin's tale adheres respectfully to the tone and pace of Stevenson's, almost a companion volume to the original. No sooner had I finished the last page than I rushed to get a copy of DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, eager to prolong my visit to that era of invention and philosophical debate. Sadly, I was hard put to finish it, even in the audiobook version. Although published in 1886, the attitudes--perhaps intentionally--portrayed by the author might have belonged to a time 50 years earlier. Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN, published in 1818, another gothic novel of scientific experiments, seems more modern!

In MARY REILLY, Ms Martin has, dare I say it, improved upon Stevenson's original with fresh insight and deeper psychology. Entertaining and well composed!

7.5 out of 10 Highly recommended to readers of Robert Louis Stevenson' fiction and Victorian fiction. show less

This is a wonderful illumination of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, told from the perspective of the housemaid. Valerie Martin somehow inhabits the original at the same time she makes it new, and the result is a fresh gothic tale that's steeped in the original horror. Martin is an incredibly sure-handed writer, and her prose sings.

Mary Reilly is an alternate telling of the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It’s told from the point of view of Dr. Jekyll’s housemaid, Mary, an observant young woman who is nonetheless somewhat blind to what’s going on around her. She keeps a journal of her observations, in which she chronicles the increasingly bizarre behavior of the man she calls Master; and her encounters with his new assistant, Edward Hyde.

It’s not a long book, only about 250 pages, but there’s a lot packed in. At first glance, it would seem odd that Dr. Jekyll seeks out the company of a lowly housemaid; but they really have a lot in common, both having gone through, or going through, periods of darkness in their lives—Mary with the demon her father, show more and Dr. Jekyll with his demon Mr. Hyde.

The tension in this novel, especially in Mary’s encounters with Mr. Hyde, is palpable, as is the London fog, which seems to surround everything. Right from the opening scene (which I won’t describe; you have to read it for yourself), I was immediately hooked into the story May’s language and grammar are colorful, too, and make her voice unique. The end of the book is somewhat marred by the anonymous postscript, but otherwise I enjoyed this novel. It’s been a number of years since I read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but from what I can recall, Valerie Martin stays pretty close to Stevenson’s book. Mary is for the most part knowledgeable about the world; but in several others, she’s a complete innocent. show less