LONGER READS · EPISODE 2 OF 4 · A2/B1 · 50 min

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde — Episode 2

Robert Louis Stevenson's story continues: a promise, a murder in the moonlight, and a letter with very strange handwriting.

Want the fuller version? Read this episode at B2/C1 level → · ← Episode 1 · Episode 3 →

Today: you'll tell the story of a murder in the fog and a letter that should not exist — and you'll practise the past simple of irregular verbs, the verbs every crime story needs: saw, hit, ran, found, hid.

Previously… Mr Utterson is a lawyer in London. His cousin told him about a small, ugly man called Mr Hyde, who walked over a little girl in the street and paid the family with a cheque from Dr Jekyll — a good and famous doctor. Mr Utterson has Dr Jekyll's will, and the will gives everything to Mr Hyde. Mr Utterson waited by a door in a side street and met Mr Hyde. He did not like him at all, and he was afraid that Mr Hyde had some power over his friend.

Warm up — before we read. Talk about these out loud. There are no wrong answers.

Discuss:

Last time you predicted what would happen next. Were you right? What did you think Mr Hyde would do?
A friend says to you: "Please don't ask questions. Just trust me." Do you trust them? For how long?
What do the police look for after a crime? Say three things.

Now — the words for this episode

Ten words. Do the four short activities, and say your answer out loud before you reveal it.

A · What do they mean here? Look at the sentence

1. It was nine in the morning, but it was dark. The air was thick and brown. You could not see the other side of the street. London was full of fog.

fog (n) — thick cloud near the ground; you cannot see far. Adjective: foggy. "Drive slowly — it's very foggy."

2. The old gentleman walked slowly. In his right hand he had a long, heavy wooden stick.

a stick (n) — a long, thin piece of wood. "A walking stick" helps you walk. In this story, a stick is also a weapon.

3. The fire was out. In the fireplace there was only a small grey pile of ashes. Somebody had burnt a lot of paper.

ashes (n, plural) — the soft grey powder that is left after a fire. "There were ashes on the floor near the fireplace."

B · Which word means…?

Three people in a crime story: a murderer · an inspector · a witness. Say the right word out loud, then reveal.

1. Which word means a person who saw what happened?

a witness (n) — "The police talked to three witnesses." Verb: to witness = to see something happen.

2. Which word means a person who kills another person?

a murderer (n) — the crime is a murder; the verb is to murder. "The police are looking for the murderer."

3. Which word means an important police officer who looks for the truth about a crime?

an inspector (n) — "Inspector Newcomen of Scotland Yard." Verb: to inspect = to look at something carefully.

C · Choose the meaning — a / b / c

1. "I will help him. I give you my word." Mr Utterson made a promise. A promise is…
(a) a question (b) when you say you will really do something (c) a present

(b) — a promise (n) / to promise (v). "I promise I'll call you." "He kept his promise." / "He broke his promise."

2. "You can tell me everything. I will not tell anybody." Dr Jekyll can trust Mr Utterson. To trust someone means…
(a) to pay them (b) to be angry with them (c) to believe they are honest and will not hurt you

(c) — to trust (v) / trust (n). "I trust my doctor." "Don't trust him — he lies." Adjective: trustworthy.

D · Word families & two meanings

1. Mr Guest looked at the letter for a long time. He said, "This is a strange hand." He did not mean the man's hand. In a letter, what do we call the way a person writes with a pen — the shape of their letters? (Clue: hand + write…)

handwriting (n) — "Her handwriting is beautiful." "I can't read your handwriting!" In old English, "a hand" can mean the same thing.

2. One word, two meanings: "Don't worry — the children are ___." · "He put the money in a ___ and locked it." What is the word? What is the adjective, and what is the noun?

safe (adj) = not in danger. a safe (n) = a strong metal box with a lock, for money and important papers. At the end of this episode, Mr Utterson puts a letter in his safe.

Now use them — out loud

Talk before we read:

Use fog, witness and inspector in three sentences about a crime on a dark night.
Which words today are about people? Which are about things? Sort them out loud.

Episode 2, in three parts

Three chapters of the book, told in simple English. After each part, answer the questions from memory, then discuss.

Part 1 — Dinner with Dr Jekyll

Two weeks later, Dr Jekyll had a dinner party. Five or six old friends came. When the other guests went home, Mr Utterson stayed. Dr Jekyll liked him very much. The doctor was a big, handsome man of fifty, with a kind face.

"I want to talk to you, Jekyll," said Mr Utterson. "About your will."

Dr Jekyll smiled. "My poor Utterson. You don't like my will. I know."

"I have learned something about young Hyde," said the lawyer.

Dr Jekyll's face went white. "I don't want to hear it," he said. "My situation is very strange. Talking cannot help."

"Jekyll, you can trust me," said Utterson. "Tell me everything. I can help you."

"Thank you, my friend," said the doctor. "But it is not as bad as you think. I will tell you one thing: when I want to, I can be free of Mr Hyde. I promise you that. Now please — let it sleep."

Then the doctor said: "One more thing. I care a lot about poor Hyde. If I die, please help him. Give him what is his. Promise me."

"I will never like him," said the lawyer.

"I don't ask that," said Jekyll. "I ask for justice. Do it for me."

Mr Utterson gave a big sigh. "All right," he said. "I promise."

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. What is the one thing Dr Jekyll tells Mr Utterson about Mr Hyde?

2. What does Mr Utterson promise?

1. "When I want to, I can be free of Mr Hyde." He does not say who Hyde is or why the will gives him everything.

2. If Dr Jekyll dies, Mr Utterson will help Mr Hyde and give him what the will says is his. He does not like it, but he promises.

Discuss:

Dr Jekyll says, "When I want to, I can be free of Mr Hyde." Do you believe him? Why, or why not?

Part 2 — The murder

Nearly a year later, in October, a terrible crime shocked London.

A maid was sitting at her window late at night. The moon was very bright. She saw an old gentleman with white hair walking in the lane. He looked kind and polite. Then she saw another man — a small man. She knew him. It was Mr Hyde. He came to her master's house once, and she did not like him.

The old man said something politely. Perhaps he asked the way. Mr Hyde did not answer. He had a heavy stick in his hand. Suddenly he became very angry. He hit the old man with the stick. The old man fell to the ground, and Mr Hyde hit him again and again. The maid fainted.

At two o'clock she woke up and called the police. Mr Hyde was gone. The old man was dead. Half of the stick was in the street. The other half was gone. In the dead man's pocket there was a letter — a letter to Mr Utterson.

The next morning the police came to Mr Utterson. He went to see the body. "Yes," he said. "I know him. This is Sir Danvers Carew." Sir Danvers was a Member of Parliament — a very important man.

The police showed him the broken stick. Mr Utterson felt cold. He knew the stick. Many years ago, he gave that stick to Dr Jekyll.

"I think I can take you to Mr Hyde's house," he said.

It was nine in the morning, and there was thick brown fog. Mr Utterson and Inspector Newcomen drove to Soho, a poor and dirty part of London. An old woman with a bad face opened the door. Mr Hyde was not at home. He came in very late last night, she said, and went out again after less than an hour.

Mr Hyde's rooms were expensive and beautiful. But somebody had searched them in a hurry. Clothes lay on the floor. Drawers were open. In the fireplace there were grey ashes — somebody had burnt a lot of papers. The inspector found half of a cheque book in the ashes. He found the other half of the stick behind the door.

"He lost his head," said the inspector. "He will need money. We will wait for him at the bank."

But it was not easy to find Mr Hyde. Nobody had a photograph of him. Nobody knew his family. And everybody described him differently. People agreed on only one thing: there was something wrong with him — but nobody could say what.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. Why do the police come to Mr Utterson?

2. What does the inspector find in Mr Hyde's rooms?

1. The dead man had a letter to Mr Utterson in his pocket. Mr Utterson knows the dead man — Sir Danvers Carew — and he knows the stick, because he gave it to Dr Jekyll.

2. Clothes on the floor, open drawers, ashes in the fireplace, half of a cheque book in the ashes, and the other half of the stick behind the door.

Discuss:

We see the murder through the eyes of the maid. Why do you think the writer chose a maid at a window, and not a policeman?

Part 3 — The letter

Late in the afternoon, Mr Utterson went to Dr Jekyll's house. Poole, the servant, took him across the garden to the old laboratory. It was a dark, dirty building. Upstairs, in a room with iron bars on the windows, Dr Jekyll sat by the fire. He looked very ill.

"You have heard the news?" said Mr Utterson.

"Yes," said the doctor. "They were shouting it in the square."

"Carew was my client. You are my client too. Tell me the truth — are you hiding this man?"

"I swear to God," said Jekyll, "I will never see him again. I am finished with him. He is safe. Nobody will hear of him again."

Mr Utterson did not like his friend's nervous voice. "If there is a trial, your name may appear."

"I have a letter," said Jekyll. "From Hyde. I don't know if I should show it to the police. You decide."

The letter was short. Edward Hyde thanked Dr Jekyll for his kindness. He wrote: "Don't worry about me. I have a safe way to escape."

"Where is the envelope?" asked Mr Utterson.

"I burnt it," said Jekyll. "But there was no stamp on it. Somebody brought it by hand."

Then Mr Utterson asked one more question. "Hyde told you to write that will — the part about you disappearing. Yes?"

Dr Jekyll went white. He nodded.

"I knew it," said Mr Utterson. "He wanted to kill you. You were lucky."

"I have had a lesson," said the doctor. "Oh God, Utterson, what a lesson!" And he put his hands over his face.

On the way out, Mr Utterson spoke to Poole. "A letter came today. What did the messenger look like?" But Poole said: "No letter came today, sir. Only the post."

Now Mr Utterson was worried again. So the letter came in through the laboratory door. Or… somebody wrote it inside the laboratory.

That evening, Mr Utterson sat by his fire with Mr Guest, his clerk. Mr Guest knew a lot about handwriting. Mr Utterson showed him the letter. "A murderer's handwriting," he said.

Mr Guest studied it. "Not a madman," he said. "But it is a strange hand."

Just then a servant brought in a note from Dr Jekyll — an invitation to dinner. Mr Guest asked to see it. He put the two papers side by side.

"Very interesting," he said at last. "The two hands are almost the same. Only the letters lean a different way."

"Say nothing about this," said Mr Utterson.

"No, sir," said the clerk.

That night, Mr Utterson locked the letter in his safe. "What!" he thought. "Henry Jekyll — writing a letter for a murderer!" And his blood ran cold.

Quick check — answer from memory, then reveal:

1. Dr Jekyll says somebody brought the letter by hand. What does Poole say?

2. What does Mr Guest notice about the two papers?

1. Poole says no letter came to the house that day — only the post. So the letter came through the laboratory door, or somebody wrote it inside the laboratory.

2. The handwriting in Mr Hyde's letter and the handwriting in Dr Jekyll's note are almost the same. Only the letters lean a different way. Mr Utterson thinks Dr Jekyll wrote the letter for Mr Hyde.

Discuss:

Mr Utterson does not give the letter to the police. He locks it in his safe. Was that right? What would you do?

Grammar — the past simple: irregular verbs

A crime story happens in the past. Many of the verbs you need are irregular — they do not take -ed. You must learn them, and this story is a good place to do it.

1 · The crime-story verbs. Say each one three times.
• see → saw The maid saw two men in the lane.
• hit → hit (no change!)
• fall → fell The stick fell into the street.
• run → ran The children ran home.
• come → came The fog came in the morning.
• go → went Poole went to the door.
• find → found Utterson found his hat.
• break → broke He broke his promise.
• burn → burnt (or burned) The fire burnt all night.
• know → knew Everybody knew Dr Jekyll.
• give → gave He gave the maid a coin.
• write → wrote She wrote to her mother.
• take → took The cab took an hour.
• put → put (no change!)
• hide → hid The cat hid under the bed.
• feel → felt The room felt cold.
• be → was / were

2 · Negatives and questions: use did, and the verb goes back to normal.
• The old woman didn't know where Hyde was. (not "didn't knew")
• Did the police find the stick? (not "Did found")

The word did already carries the past. The main verb stays in its first form.

1. Put the verb in the past simple

1. Mr Hyde (hit) the old man with his stick.

2. The old man (fall) to the ground.

3. The maid (see) everything from her window.

4. Then Mr Hyde (run) away.

5. The police (come) at two o'clock.

1. hit 2. fell 3. saw 4. ran 5. came

Number 1 does not change: hit – hit – hit. Say all five out loud twice.

2. Choose the verb, then put it in the past simple

Use each verb once: break · burn · find · go · know.

1. The heavy stick in two pieces.

2. Mr Utterson the stick — it was Dr Jekyll's.

3. Mr Utterson and the inspector to Soho in a cab.

4. The inspector half of the stick behind the door.

5. Somebody a lot of papers in the fireplace.

1. broke 2. knew 3. went 4. found 5. burnt (or burned)

3. Tell the afternoon — complete the paragraph

Put each verb in the past simple. Then read the whole paragraph aloud.

In the afternoon Mr Utterson (go) to Dr Jekyll's house. The doctor (give) him a letter from Mr Hyde. "Hyde (write) it," said the doctor. Mr Utterson (take) the letter home. His clerk, Mr Guest, (know) a lot about handwriting. He (put) the letter next to a note from Dr Jekyll. The two hands (be) almost the same. Mr Utterson (feel) cold. That night he (hide) the letter in his safe.

went · gave · wrote · took · knew · put · were · felt · hid

Nine irregular verbs in one paragraph. Cover the answers and say the paragraph again from memory.

Keep these — in the Speak tab you will tell the whole episode like a police report.

Going deeper

In Episode 1, Mr Hyde was a bad feeling and a strange story. Now he is a murderer, and his name is in every newspaper. And the man who should be most afraid — Dr Jekyll — says: "He is safe. Nobody will hear of him again." How can he be so sure?

What to notice. The writer does not show us much of the murder. We see it through a window, in the moonlight, and then the maid faints. The writer spends more time on the fog — thick, brown, dark at nine in the morning. In this book, London is a place where you cannot see clearly. A rich, respectable street and a poor, dangerous street are ten minutes apart.

And notice the letter. It arrives to make things better: Hyde says thank you, Hyde says goodbye. But one page later, it makes things much worse — because a clerk puts it next to a dinner invitation. The clue is not a body or a weapon. It is handwriting. And the man who finds the clue is Dr Jekyll's best friend, who puts it in a safe and says nothing.

Talk it through:

Dr Jekyll says he does not care what happens to Hyde. He cares about his own good name. Is that a normal feeling, or a bad one?
Why is there so much fog in this story? Is it only weather?
Mr Guest sees that the two handwritings are the same. He says only, "Very interesting." Mr Utterson says, "Say nothing." What are the two men really saying to each other?
Nobody can describe Mr Hyde. Everybody says something different. Is it easy to describe a person you have seen only once? Try: describe the last stranger you spoke to.

Speak

This is the most important part — say everything out loud. Use the timer, and try to fill the whole time.

Useful language: Nearly a year later… Late at night… The next morning… In the afternoon… That night…
For opinions: "I think…", "For me…", "The strangest part is…", "I don't agree, because…".

Time remaining: 4:00

Task A · Tell the episode like a police report (4 minutes)

You are Inspector Newcomen. Tell the whole story of the crime to your boss: the dinner and the promise → the maid at the window → the old man and the small man → the stick → the letter in the pocket → Mr Utterson and the name Sir Danvers Carew → the fog → the rooms in Soho → the ashes and the cheque book → the doctor's letter → two handwritings.

Use at least six irregular past simple verbs (saw, hit, fell, ran, found, went, broke, burnt, knew, wrote, took, hid) and at least four key words.

Task B · The letter in the safe (4 minutes)

Mr Utterson has a letter that could help the police. He locks it in his safe. Is that right or wrong? Give three reasons for your answer. Think about: what he knows, what he only thinks, and his two clients — Dr Jekyll and Sir Danvers Carew.

Now try the other side for one minute. Say the opposite of what you just said. It is difficult — that is the point.

Task C · Predict (4 minutes)

What happens next — and what would have to be true for it to happen? Choose one idea, tell it as a short story, and then explain: what must be true about Dr Jekyll, Mr Hyde or Mr Utterson for your story to work? Use will, won't, probably, maybe and I think… because…

Stuck for an idea? Pick one of these and run with it:

The police catch Mr Hyde at the bank, and there is a trial.
Nobody ever sees Mr Hyde again, and Dr Jekyll becomes healthy and happy.
Mr Utterson shows Dr Jekyll the two handwritings and asks for the truth.
Dr Lanyon, the other doctor, discovers something about Dr Jekyll's experiments.
Dr Jekyll stays in his laboratory and does not come out. The servants get worried.
Dr Jekyll writes a new will — and it does not mention Mr Hyde.

To finish — the bigger questions

Everybody who meets Mr Hyde feels there is something wrong with him, but nobody can say what. Have you ever felt like that about a person or a place?
Dr Jekyll says, "I have had a lesson." What lesson do you think he means?
Which moment in this episode do you remember most? Say why.
Before you go — from memory: give me five sentences about this episode, each one with a different irregular verb in the past simple. Then make one negative sentence and one question about the letter.