Apr 15th, 2026

Despite the times she’s in, Utterson calmly accepts Jekyll (and Lanyon’s) queerness. It would be hypocritical of her not to, but also: she is “the last reputable acquaintance and the last good influence in the lives of downgoing men.” She sticks around, even if your track record isn’t quite what society deems “good.”

Last week, I was made aware of the novel My Dear Henry by Kaylin Bayron, which I then proceeded to purchase and finish in less than 48 hours. I highly recommend it! It’s a novel that reimagines Jekyll and Utterson as Black queer teenagers living in the original setting. I really enjoyed how it tackled racism/homophobia in that time period. It’s also such a perfectly dramatic and adorable love story. Please read it so I have more people to talk about it with!!!