The Man with the Twisted Lip
A respectable gentleman disappears in an opium den and a hideous beggar is suspected of his murder. Holmes unmasks a startling double life.
An opium den in Upper Swandam Lane, a respectable man who vanishes from an upstairs window, and a hideous beggar who will not explain himself. The story moves between two worlds and two registers — drawing-room and gutter — and its whole effect depends on a single voice belonging to both, which is the one thing a full cast has to be careful with rather than simply solve. Mrs St Clair's scenes carry the weight: she is certain her husband is alive while everyone around her is managing her expectations.
The voices that carry it
Neville St Clair is cast as one man in two conditions rather than two characters, because the reveal only works if you recognise the voice at the moment Holmes washes the face.
Chapter one plays without an account. Start listening to The Man with the Twisted Lip.
Voice cast
7 characters plus the narrator, each with their own voice. All the voices of The Man with the Twisted Lip.
- Sherlock Holmes — The world's only consulting detective. Razor-sharp analytical mind, cold precision, theatrical wit. Alternates between lethargy and explosive energy. Speaks in crisp, certain pronouncements.
- Dr. Watson — Holmes's loyal friend and biographer. A former army surgeon, warm, practical, earnest. Speaks with admiration for Holmes and genuine concern for clients.
- Inspector Lestrade — Scotland Yard's lead inspector. Competent but conventional, inclined to the obvious theory. Treats Holmes with mixed scepticism and grudging reliance.
- Neville St. Clair — A respectable businessman in The Man with the Twisted Lip — secretly Hugh Boone, a professional beggar. Leads a double life to fund his comfortable family existence.
- Mrs. St. Clair — Neville St. Clair's devoted wife, desperately searching for her missing husband in The Man with the Twisted Lip.
- Isa Whitney — Kate Whitney's husband, an opium addict found dazed in the Bar of Gold den.
- Kate Whitney — Mrs. Watson's friend, who arrives distressed asking for help finding her opium-addicted husband.
Chapters
- Chapter VI: The Man with the Twisted Lip
About this recording
Is this story about drug addiction?
It opens in an opium den and one minor character is an addict, but the case itself is about a double life and Victorian ideas of respectability. The den is where the story starts rather than what it is about.
How long does it take to listen to?
About fifty minutes, in a single chapter. Like the other Holmes short stories it stands alone, so it can be a first listen as easily as a tenth.