The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for English learners: level, words and how to read it
Stevenson’s 1886 novella is short enough to read in an evening and dense enough to teach you a lot of English. Here is how difficult it is, which words to know and how to read it in the original.
- Author
- Robert Louis Stevenson
- Published
- 1886
- Level
- B2
- Words
- 25,729
- Chapters
- 10
- Reading time
- ≈ 3 h
Read The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in Booklex
In the app’s free library. Tap a word to see what it means.
What the book is about
Mr Utterson, a quiet London lawyer, is worried about his old friend Dr Henry Jekyll, a respected and kind physician. Jekyll has made a strange will that leaves everything to a certain Mr Edward Hyde, a small, repulsive man whom everyone instinctively hates and who has just trampled a child in the street.
Why would a gentleman like Jekyll protect such a man? Utterson starts asking questions, and the answer is so famous that “Jekyll and Hyde” has become a phrase in many languages. Reading how the mystery unfolds is still gripping.
Themes
- The two sides of a person. Good and evil inside one human being, and what happens when one side is set free.
- Respectability and secrets. Victorian gentlemen who keep up appearances while hiding things behind closed doors.
- Science and its limits. A scientist who goes too far in an experiment on himself.
- Losing control. A habit that starts as a choice and turns into something you cannot stop.
How hard is The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to read in English?
Most of this book is made of everyday English. The 2,000 most common words cover 84.4% of it, so a learner who knows only those meets about 16 new words in every hundred. At 5,000 known words that drops to around 9, and at 10,000 to about 5.
Reading without help feels easy at about 98% familiar words (see our guide), which puts this book at C1 by vocabulary. You do not need to know every word in advance, though: with tap-to-translate it works from B2. On our list it sits between Treasure Island, which is a little easier, and A Christmas Carol, which is a little harder.
What is hard: dense, formal Victorian vocabulary (countenance, hitherto, penitence), long sentences (19 words on average, many far longer) and an abstract final chapter, Jekyll’s own confession. What helps: the book is very short, about three hours of reading, it is built as a mystery, and its chapters are brief.
Our take: lexically one of the harder books here (C1), but its length makes it a realistic challenge from B2 with tap-to-translate.
Words to know before you start
Below are words that come up again and again in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde but are rare in modern English. Knowing them before you start saves a lot of tapping in the first chapters.
| Word | Meaning | Times in the book |
|---|---|---|
| cheque | a written order to a bank to pay money | 10 |
| countenance | a person’s face or expression | 8 |
| disappearance | the fact of going missing | 7 |
| draught | a dose of liquid medicine; a drink | 6 |
| hitherto | until now (formal) | 6 |
| stature | a person’s height | 5 |
| deformity | a badly shaped part of the body | 5 |
| phial | a small glass bottle for medicine | 4 |
| penitence | regret for having done wrong | 4 |
| gallows | a frame used for hanging criminals | 4 |
How to read it in the original
- Read it in two or three sittings. The book is short; keeping the story in your head matters more than speed.
- Do not get stuck on the first paragraph. Stevenson piles up adjectives; once you have the gist, move on.
- Slow down for the last chapter. “Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case” is the hardest and the most important part.
- Save the abstract words. Words like penitence and countenance appear in many 19th-century books; they pay off later.
The first line
Mr. Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary and yet somehow lovable.
Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyderugged countenancerough, hard facephrase in context
Tap a highlighted word
A typical Stevenson sentence: one long description built from short pieces. If you can follow it with a little help, the rest of the book is within reach.
Frequently asked questions
Is The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde hard to read in English?
Yes, the vocabulary is demanding, roughly C1. But the book has only about 26,000 words, so with tap-to-translate it is manageable from B2.
What English level do I need for The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?
From B2, if you translate unknown words with a tap. Reading without any help needs about C1. If it feels too hard, start with Treasure Island, which is a little easier.
