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Author: (English) Stevenson
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not available
Features: Treasure Island is almost entirely narrated by Jim Hawkins, the son of the innkeeper, with a few chapters inserted where Dr. Livesey recounts events that occurred while Jim was absent. In the two famous novels The Moonstone and The Woman in White by another British writer, Wilkie Collins, the story is also told from the perspectives of the characters within the book. This technique makes the narrative appear more credible without becoming monotonous. The first eight chapters of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde do not employ the first-person narrative, but the reader is eager to know the answers to the questions that create suspense. The events of the murder of Lord Carew in Chapter 4 are provided by an eyewitness. The last two chapters are revealed through the written accounts of two medical doctors, lifting the veil of mystery and exposing the truth. The author decisively abandoned the tempting prospect of delving into who murdered Lord Carew, preventing the main suspense—who is Hyde?—from branching off. Such editing requires courage. One of the charms of Stevenson's novels lies in his ability to compress long novels into shorter ones, without ever stretching short stories into medium-length ones.