Calum Kerr

PhD - Jekyll and Hyde: Rewriting and Hypertext

I completed my PhD in 2005. The thesis is entitled The Multiple Perspectives of Jekyll and Hyde: Hypertext and Rewriting. It involved the rewriting of Stevenson's novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as a computer-based hypertext, and a scholarly examination of the process.

It essentially involved rewriting the novella 4 times, each time taking the perspective of a different character. These 4 narratives were then split up into short sections and cross-linked so that it is possible, when reading the hypertext, to change which person you are following and so build up your own version of the story. In addition there are a number of extra narrative sections creating dead-ends and loops, adding to the maze-like quality of the narrative. One result of this structure is that it is possible to read the hypertext many times without constructing the same narrative twice.

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The hypertext is online and can be viewed at www.jekyllandhyde-multipleperspectives.co.uk.

The accompanying scholarly work looked at the various areas of literary and technological study which informed the work. These included: the nature of hypertext, as a computerised tool and as a literary form; the processes of writing, reading, rewriting and rereading; and, finally, the issues of web-design and usability that need to be taken into account when producing such an extensive work on a computer.

Since finishing the thesis, I have delivered a number of seminars and conference papers developed from the topics covered in the scholarly work. In addition, it has also led to a chapter in a soon to be published book. The chapter is entitled: 'Two Worlds Collide: Hypertext and Rewriting' and the book is Reader Development in Practice: bringing literature to readers, edited by Susan Hornby and Bob Glass of Manchester Metropolitan University. It will be published in April 2008.

The abstract from the front of the thesis is attached below. For more information about the topics covered you can contact me at the email address on the Home Page.

The Multiple Perspectives Of Jekyll And Hyde: Hypertext And Rewriting - Abstract

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