Reviews

Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin

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craftyemma's review

4.0

A fascinating take on the Jekyll and Hyde story from a housemaids point of view.

A really outstanding tribute to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and a wonderful book in its own right. Mary Reilly is told in the form of journals written by a maid to Dr. Jekyll, it begins with her recounting a harrowing event from her childhood--written down at the request of Jekyll--and then continues through Hyde/Jekyll's death. At first the links the book are very opaque, you might now have even known, but eventually most of the major incidents show through. Unlike "Hyde" it does not offer any new explanations, just a setting for what is both a good story but also an interesting perspective on the psychology of someone who is both innocent but also deeply experienced and how she observes and increasingly understands the life of the man she calls Master.

sorceress_j's review against another edition

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3.0

I wanted to be thoroughly head-over-heels in love with this book, but as it is, the verdict: eh, it's all right. As much as I really liked Mary's POV journal entries that make up the story, I felt that sacrificed character development for everyone else, even Jekyll to some extent. Also, it was overall a bit longer than it needed to be, considering there would be moments where nothing happened.

However, I'll take it over the movie, which I think is safely in the "not good" category by far (but a half-decent guilty pleasure for me). At least there is no John Malkovich glaring at Julia Roberts when their characters are supposed to like each other.

kahale's review

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4.0

A young housemaid is working in the house of Dr. Jeykll when suddenly he makes an announcement that the staff must be welcoming to an assistant Mr. Hyde. No one suspects the truth that Mary comes to find out.