Synopses & Reviews
From the acclaimed author of the bestselling
Italian Fever comes a fresh twist on the classic Jekyll and Hyde story, a novel told from the perspective of Mary Reilly, Dr. Jekyll's dutiful and intelligent housemaid.
Faithfully weaving in details from Robert Louis Stevenson's classic, Martin introduces an original and captivating character: Mary 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.
Review
"Spare and atmospheric, this story is a dark, absorbing symphony; Mary Reilly is an unforgettable character." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Brilliant....A powerful and moving novel." Los Angeles Times Book Review
Review
"[D]eserves praise for suspense, character creation, and historical verisimilitude....Most compelling is a forceful consciousness about the dual propensity of human nature and the awesome power which is ours." Library Journal
Review
"An astonishing tour de force....Mary Reilly is both a tense drama an authentically detailed historical novel and a remarkable psychological portrait of an unusual and very sympathetic woman." Margaret Atwood
Synopsis
From the acclaimed author of the bestselling Italian Fever comes a fresh twist on the classic Jekyll and Hyde story, a novel told from the perspective of Mary Reilly, Dr. Jekyll's dutiful and intelligent housemaid.
Synopsis
From the acclaimed author of the bestselling
Italian Fever comes a fresh twist on the classic Jekyll and Hyde story, a novel told from the perspective of Mary Reilly, Dr. Jekyll's dutiful and intelligent housemaid.
Faithfully weaving in details from Robert Louis Stevenson's classic, Martin introduces an original and captivating character: Mary 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.
About the Author
Valerie Martin is the author of six novels and two collections of short fiction, including Italian Fever and Mary Reilly, and a biography of St. Francis, Salvation. She resides in upstate New York.