Two Women of London

by Emma Tennant

Tennant cleverly reworks the classic tale, giving it a contemporary setting and a decidedly feminist twist. The construction itself is unusual--more like a play, complete with a "cast list" and a prologue that not only describes the crime but names the murderer. This device distances the reader from the action and signals that the story is less important than its social implications. It also makes the book rather an odd read. Still, there is plenty to pique the mystery lover's interest, as we quickly figure out that the task is to discern the killer's motivation and the nature of her connection to the rest of the players. As in the original tale, Mrs. Hyde and Ms. Jekyll are alter egos of one very disconnected person, here an otherwise respectable woman driven to madness, child abuse and drug addiction by her husband's desertion and the resultant loss of a defined societal role. The story of her degeneration is poignant and thought-provoking. Yet Tennant's indictment of modern society and the impossible demands it places upon women would be more effectively presented on the stage.

Genres: Fiction, 20th Century, Mystery, Retellings, Historical Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Since the early 1970s, when she was in her mid-thirties, Emma Tennant has been a prolific novelist and has established herself as one of the leading British exponents of "new fiction." This does not mean that she is an imitator of either the French nouveaux romanciers or the American post-modernists, although her work reveals an indebtedness to the methods and preoccupations of some of the latter. Like them, she employs parody and rewriting, is interested in the fictiveness of fiction, appropriates some science-fiction conventions, and exploits the possibilities of generic dislocation and mutation, especially the blending of realism and fantasy. Yet, although parallels can be cited and influences suggested, her work is strongly individual, the product of an intensely personal, even idiosyncratic, attempt to create an original type of highly imaginative fiction.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
This is a late 1980s take of Stephenson’s Jekyll and Hyde, set in the Ladbroke Grove area of London. Emma Tennant gives it a feminist twist. The novella is not set out in a conventional way, having a narrators who use a variety of sources; journals, accounts from a variety of sources, interviews etc. Tennant is known as an author whose work has a post-modern edge. She is a member of the Glenconner family (Stephen Tennant was her uncle) who have long added a bohemian streak to the British establishment. Tennant has also written a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, a novel about Adele, the daughter of Mr Rochester (Jane Eyre) and Faustine, a feminist retelling of Faust, which sounds intriguing.
The tale of Jekyll and Hyde is well known and one of the most filmed novels. The double life/double psyche idea is very well used here with Ms Eliza Jekyll and Mrs Hyde. Ms Jekyll is an art dealer who is beautiful and fashionable, attracting sophisticated men. Mrs Hyde appears older, shapeless, a single mother, abandoned by her husband and damaged by prescription drugs. Of course they are the same person. Tennant says of the novel:
“the frequently intolerable pressures for one woman today—single parenthood, need to compete in the marketplace, a Manichean split between ambition and ‘caring’—can lead to disintegration and murder”
The news of the day is intertwined in the novel and the Notting Hill Rapist is in the background. Mrs Hyde becomes an avenger murdering a man who appears to be the rapist. Tennant handles the material in a clever way. When Eliza Jekyll hires a cleaner her name is Grace Poole (Bertha Mason’s keeper in Jane Eyre).
Tennant examines the nature of female anger and violence and I’m going to quote her comments again because they are apposite:
“Of course every single woman has had those very violent feelings, just like every man. It’s just odd to think that where we are today, what’s going on – I’m amazed that so many women seem to have given up on any form of expression of those violent feelings. The anger has been siphoned out into consumerism – it’s a cliché, but that’s what happened. Women today who are told they must be like dolls – what can they be making of it? What do they think as they slide down the lap-dancing pole? ‘I am a very angry woman’…? Maybe this is just one’s generation. But to me the point of everything is to get those feelings out and make something of them, not to conceal their existence or to allow what will happen if you leave them bottled up. Perhaps some new form of fiction could deal with this.”
The entire cast is female and the mix of different character types works well. Mrs Hyde is a victim whose deed is an act of self-defence and an act which is an attempt to free from the oppression which surrounds all women.
This is a good retelling of Stephenson’s original story from an interesting perspective and it is thought provoking. I really don’t understand why it isn’t better known and the retelling of Faust looks interesting as well.

[Neil Fulwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

Resetting ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ to a 1980s London populated by artsy types and middle class ice maidens should have provided all the ingredients for a rip-roaring satire. But somehow Tennant never quite finds a tone, a narrative thread or a way in to the material. At 120 pages, the novella plods. Tennant finds a way of discussing feminism and the interrelationship of good and evil during the last 15 or so pages, and conjures a couple of memorable set-pieces, but as a whole the book is stagnant and unengaging.

[Esther · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading her account of literary life in London in the 70s and her affair with Ted Hughes, I was curious to read one of her novels and came across this Faber edition from 1990. Its a retelling of Jekyll and Hyde brought up to date (for when this was written) to feature 'two' women living in west London. This started out well, when it was more a portrait of women, their lives and life in Ladbroke Grove - but as the plot came towards the explanation required at the end, I lost interest and thought some of the feminist points made were a bit laboured.

[Eef Pannekoeke · Rating 3 out of 5]

"the dreams began to change, and so did I"

In alle chaos rond de examens vergeten te reviewen ://
Ik ben een stuk enthousiaster over het originele verhaal, het idee van de feministische twist was in theorie heel cool, maar kwam niet volledig tot zijn recht. Er waren echt honderd dingen tegelijkertijd aan het gebeuren, waardoor het moeilijk te volgen was, en sommige passages voelden echt aan als 'feminism for dummies'. Mijn favoriete detail was wel echt Mara en haar filmcamera! Slecht is het zeker niet, ik had gewoon meer verwacht:(

[Beatriz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good rewriting of the classic tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from a feminist point of view. I would have given it one more star had it not been so annoyingly selfconscious about feminism at times. I particularly liked the use of pastiche, giving an interesting postmodern turn to the Victorian story.

[Brian]

Two Women of London: The Strange Case of Ms.Jekyll and Mrs.Hyde by Emma Tennant (1990)

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very unique style and characters that are caricatures, yet lifelike at the same time.