* Copy courtesy of Transit Lounge *
The Haunting of Mr and Mrs Stevenson by Belinda Lyons-Lee is the story behind the events that inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
With a killer Prologue about wardrobes and their ability to absorb the essence of their creator as well as those who have used it to keep their belongings safely inside it, I dare you to read the first page and not continue.
When the story kicks off we're in 1885 in the seaside town of Bournemouth on the south coast of England. The novel is told from the perspective of Fanny Osbourne, a married American writer who went on to divorce her husband and marry Robert Louis Stevenson to become Fanny Stevenson.
I appreciated the character list at the beginning of the book and it certainly helped me keep the Shelley characters straight in my mind. In telling her tale to Lady Shelley, Fanny confides:
'It's a strange tale,' I said. 'A wardrobe, a hundred-year-old hanging of an infamous criminal, a cunning poisoner, and plenty of greed, lust, betrayal and madness.' Page 66You might be wondering if you need to have read any of Robert Louis Stevenson's work (The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde or Treasure Island) in order to enjoy this gothic historical fiction novel and my answer is a resounding no. I haven't read the Jekyll and Hyde classic, although those who have done so will definitely enjoy the few snippets of writing shared in this novel as Stevenson throws himself into his work creating a novel about the duality of nature.
At the same time I was reading this, I was listening to Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green and it had additional relevancy for me as Stevenson is portrayed as having a consumption like illness (now called tuberculosis) which played a large part in the events of the novel.
This is my second time reading the work of this Australian author, having enjoyed Tussaud by Belinda Lyons-Lee back in April 2021 and I was pleased to find this just as well researched and containing a similar dark gothic atmosphere I've come to appreciate in her writing.
The Haunting of Mr and Mrs Stevenson by Belinda Lyons-Lee is recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction based on the lives and actions of real people from history with a touch of the supernatural.
