In 2003 I became interested in the idea of doing a literary version of a "film remake;" that is, to take an existing public-domain story and rewrite it, paragraph by paragraph, updating the characters and dialogue to reflect modern times. I decided for my first such experiment to be based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novella "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde;" it really is a remarkable story, and one I believe is simply not read by as many modern readers as would enjoy reading it if they'd just give it a chance.
Those familiar with the original story will find a number of changes in my reimagined version: Victorian-age London has been turned into a sleepy midwestern college town; Dr. Jekyll has become an obsessive medical student, kicked out of his university labs because of his toxic experiments in anti-psychotic medication; Mr. Hyde, a rave kid gone horribly, horribly wrong. Utterson, the main narrator of the original story, has become a jogging-obsessed tight-lipped law student in my version of the story; and Poole, Jekyll's butler in the original version, retains his "comic relief" duties but is now Jekyll's surfer pothead roommate.
Even with all these changes, however, I tried as much as possible to retain both the original spirit of Stevenson's story and the details inherent in his narrative. I hope that both old fans and new readers enjoy this reinterpretation of Stevenson's classic creepy tale of science run amok.
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