Jekyll vs HydeThe Potion of Doom

I have dragged an unreasonable number of slightly unwilling (or at the very least unsuspecting) visitors to one of my favourite hidden gems of the city. The Old Operating Theatre is a glorious bit of complete old-school London spookiness, tucked away above the city, steeped in medical history and just macabre enough that my guests inevitably end up loving it! So when Farshore invited me there for the launch of Jack Meggitt-Phillips’ new book Jekyll vs Hyde: The Potion of Doom, I was feral! Of course this was where this particular book should be let loose! It was genius to take somewhere already so gothic, drenched in pain and suffering, full of medicinal concoctions and potentially sinister potions, and elbow-deep in dubious medical practices, then transform it into a launch space that reflected the innards of Jack’s new series so perfectly. Brilliant. I already knew all the creaky corners of the venue, but that night it felt completely transformed and entwined with the gloomy town of Gothville and Hyde Manor. Farshore utterly spoiled us. Personalised cards, bookish biscuits, delightful and frightful cocktails/mocktails and, most importantly, our very own Potion of Doom-making experience! I really love when adults can unleash their inner child and play in this manner. It’s such a joyful gift and immersive element. Of course, simply launching a spooky children’s book inside an old operating theatre wasn’t nearly theatrical enough for Jack Meggitt-Phillips. Oh no no no. We all popped into the actual medical amphitheatre where we found our author laid out on the operating table. Naturally. In classic Jack fashion, he eventually came to life from the slab and treated us to snippets from The Potion of Doom, which felt considerably more ominous, hilarious and engaging in that setting than any author reading I can recall. And I’ve seen Jack perform his work for years now. He sat down with his editor to talk about how the story came to life, the Stevenson legacy behind the new series and the importance of making room for spooky stories in children’s books. I could not have nodded harder in agreement if I tried! The combination of silliness, storytelling craftsmanship and a serious knowledge of his spooky stuff is one of the things I enjoy so much about Jack, and that was in abundance that night as he enveloped the room with horror, humour and hijinks. Somehow, even after Jack had resurrected himself and I’d been allowed to concoct suspicious substances, Farshore still had one more thing capable of completely flooring me… Holly Swain was there! ARGH! I have been a HUGE fan of Holly’s work for years. Hello, have you read the Colin’s Castle books? Of course I was fangirling. We’d exchanged so much love over the internet that finally getting to meet her in actual three-dimensional human form was genuinely one of the event highlights. I was so giddy with excitement my glasses flew off midway through the photos and I was treated to a triptych of terrible terrifying pics. (Thanks for capturing that moment, Sean!) It also made me think, yet again, about how rare it still seems to be for illustrators to be properly present and celebrated at book launches alongside their authors. Which in this day and age really is a big old bowl of Poppycock, Balderdash and Nonsense soup. So thank you team for making this happen. More than anything, the whole night emphasised that this is a team who know their authors, know their work and know their audiences. Nothing felt plucked from a generic book-launch playbook and given a gothic lick of paint. From choosing the Old Operating Theatre and letting Jack indulge in some full-throttle theatrics to the potion-making lab, personalised touches and, importantly for me, having Holly there as part of the celebration, they understood what makes this book and its creators special and built the evening around it. I went home thoroughly spoiled, which, given Henrik’s family dynamic, was probably the most thematically appropriate part of the whole night!