Dissected Narration in From Hell: a Graphic Translation of R. L. Stevenson's Dr Jekyll

This article investigates the narrative strategies implemented by artists to render visually the fantastic story born from the mind of Scottish author R. L. Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886). After focusing on the problematic illustrations by Charles Raymond Macauley (1904) and Mervyn Peake (1948), the demonstration lays emphasis on the original graphic novel by Eddy Campbell and Alan Moore, From Hell (1989-1991). Carefully chosen panels are then analyzed to highlight the sophisticated combination of a highly documented script and a challenging visual rhetoric, thus addressing issues such as chronology and rhythm.