I knew the basic plot of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but hadn't read Robert Louis Stevenson's classic before reading this book. It's not necessary though--not with that book being so much part of popular culture. You just need to know that Dr. Jekyll, who seems a kind, philanthropic physician is also Mr. Hyde, a monster of depravity let loose by a potion. Knowing just that, you can get the richness and irony of seeing this story from the point of view of a young Irish maid in Dr. Jekyll's service. So yes, this is fanfic of the classic type, such as Jean Rhy's Wild Sargasso Sea, based upon Jane Eyre, that takes a minor (or in this case, I think) an imagined character and subverts and/or illuminates the original. While I don't think this is quite the work of enduring literature that Rhy's book is, neither is this some trashy read. It's quite well-written and a surprisingly affecting story, told in a great first person voice and with well-done period detail. The books stands well on its own.
