10 things you didn't know about Jekyll and Hyde

5: The real Dr Jekyll

The idea of a man physically transforming into his darker self may have come to Stevenson in a dream, but there was also another huge influence: an 18th Century Scottish gentleman named Deacon Brodie.

By day, Brodie was a high society figure, an artisan famous for his custom-made cabinets. But by night he was a devious thief and leader of a gang of robbers. Eventually executed for his crimes, Brodie fascinated the young Stevenson, whose family actually owned one of Brodie's cabinets. One of Stevenson's first ever stories was all about Brodie, whose strange dual nature inspired the character of Dr Jekyll.

6: The opposite of writer's block

Stevenson certainly didn't waste any time when it came to writing Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

In fact, he was so excited by the story that he wrote it at the almost unbelievable rate of 10,000 words a day – finishing the whole book in much less than a week.