Two 1880s–1890s stories about a man with two lives, four years apart, and they could hardly be less alike in method. Jekyll and Hyde (1886) is a short novella built as a mystery: the reader meets Hyde before anyone explains him, and the explanation arrives as a written confession. Dorian Gray (1890) is a long novel about a portrait that ages while its subject does not, and its secret is visible to the reader from the first chapter.
Stevenson is interested in a scientific experiment and the possibility of splitting a personality; Wilde is interested in beauty, influence and the cost of never being seen. Jekyll’s horror is that he wanted to be Hyde; Dorian’s is that he wanted never to be old.
The lengths are the practical difference. Jekyll and Hyde is about 26,000 words — an evening — and Dorian Gray about 79,000. If you want the tighter construction and the surprise, take Stevenson. If you want the wit, the epigrams and the society portrait, take Wilde.
Both books were shaped by scandal. Wilde had to defend his novel before it appeared between covers, and Stevenson burned his first draft of Jekyll after reading it aloud to his wife, then rewrote it in a few weeks.
Side by side
Both editions are on this site, so the word counts and reading times are the numbers of the files you download. Screen versions are counted from the verified filmographies on the site; “none listed” means no version has been verified there yet, not that none exists.
| The Picture of Dorian Gray | Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde | |
|---|---|---|
| Published | 1890 | 1886 |
| Author | Oscar Wilde | Robert Louis Stevenson |
| Words here | 79,000 | 26,000 |
| Reading time | 4 h | 1 h |
| Screen versions | 8 | 4 |
| Free edition | The Picture of Dorian Gray | Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde |
How to choose
- Read Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde if you want a short, perfectly built novella with a late reveal.
- Read The Picture of Dorian Gray if you want a longer novel of manners with a Gothic premise.
- Both are complete editions here; the Wilde is the one with the famous preface on art and morality.
Questions readers ask
Which was published first?
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde appeared in 1886; The Picture of Dorian Gray as a book in 1891, after a magazine version in 1890.
Is Dorian Gray a horror novel?
It uses a Gothic device — the ageing portrait — but its subject is aestheticism and society, not fear.
Which is longer?
Dorian Gray, at about 79,000 words against 26,000.
Both novels are in the complete catalogue. More head-to-head comparisons are in the comparison index, and word counts for everything are in the word-count table.