ost widely known of his books is that curious story,
published in 1886, called _The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde_,
the popularity of which, especially in America, was immense. It deals
with man's dual nature, and while Dr Jekyll embodies the good side of
it, Mr Hyde, with whom he is compelled continually to exchange bodies,
as well as souls, is the evil side, and commits crimes so atrocious,
that the miserable doctor is well-nigh driven to despair. It is a
powerful subject, powerfully treated, and contains in its small compass
more moral teaching than a hundred sermons. It has, particularly in
America, been used by many clergymen as the foundation of their
homilies.

_The Master of Ballantrae_, a weird and striking tale of the times of
'the forty-five,' is extraordinarily graphic both in its descriptions of
places and of people. The gloomy house of Durrisdeer, with its stately
panelled hall, the fine grounds so carefully laid out, the thick
shrubberies, the spot where the duel was fought on the hard, frozen
ground by the light of the flickering candles in the tall silver
candlesticks, the wave-beaten point where the smuggling luggers land
goods and passengers, and finally the awful journey through the
uncleared woods of America, make a fit setting, in our memories, for the
splendidly drawn pictures of the three Duries, the old father, the
unappreciated Henry, the mocking master, their faithful land-steward,
Mackellar, and the more shadowy personalities of the Frenchman, the
lady, and the children. The tale is one of unrelieved horror, but it is
a masterpiece nevertheless, and it has had a very large sale.

With his wife Mr Stevenson in _More New Arabian Nights_ and _The
Dynamiter_ did some work of considerable interest, and with his stepson,
Mr Lloyd Osbourne, he wrote that quaint tale, _The Wrong Box_. In
collaboration also with Mr Lloyd Osbourne he wrote _The Wrecker_ and
_The Ebb Tide_.

_The Wrecker_ is a wild and interesting story which had a large success.
It originally appeared in _Scribner's Magazine_ from August 1891 to July
1892, and was republished in book form by Messrs Cassell & Co. The scene
is constantly changing in it, and the hero visits Edinburgh, stays in
the students' quarter in Paris, personally conducts speculative picnics
at San Francisco, distinguishes himself at the wreck on the lonely reef
in mid-ocean, and finally, after appearing in England and Fontainbleau,
tells his wonderful st