Robert Louis Stevenson was high on cocaine when he wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. His wife Fanny Stevenson claimed that one night, she was awakened by her husband’s cries. She woke him from his nightmare, only to be scolded: "Why did you wake me? I was dreaming a fine bogeytale." She had interrupted him as his mind wove the first transformation scene of Dr. Jekyll into his dark alter-ego Hyde.

Fanny Stevenson had not been the kind of woman Robert’s parents had imagined for him. While she was beautiful and witty, Fanny was 10 years his senior, divorced, American, and something of a tomboy. She rolled her own cigarettes and knew how to shoot a pistol. But Robert was absolutely besotted by her, even following her back to America. When his family refused to pay for his passage, he toiled and saved for 3 years, just to be reunited with her. All turned out well in the end, for had Robert fallen in love with someone else, perhaps the story Dr. Jekylll and Mr Hyde might have turned out very differently.

Fanny read Robert’s first draft, advising him to re-write it as an allegory. So Robert started from scratch, burning his first draft for fear that he would try to salvage it. He re-wrote the whole story in 6 days, and this version went on to become one of the most famous horror novellas of all time, reflecting a deep inner struggle of good and evil, found at the core of every man. https://image.nostr.build/e0a2e3ee0defa1438c6e50919c423f2eb6e55018124f3e353e41b407e91a04f3.jpg