The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion
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The Man with the Twisted Lip - a Sherlock Holmes Short Story
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Sherlock Holmes: The Man with the Twisted Lip
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The Man with the Twisted Lip (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)
Discussion Questions
1) Were you as surprised as Watson appears to be when he finds Holmes in the opium den?
2) Why was Neville's coat missing so significantly versus the rest of his clothing?
3) Why, do you think, Neville used coins to fill the pockets of his coat instead of other debris that he might have found around him?
4) Do you think Neville’s wife came to the correct conclusion that her husband was still alive when she received his letter? What of Holmes' supposition that it could have been earlier?
5) Do you think Neville could have supported his family by begging? Does this come across as realistic?
I think this was the story I enjoyed most from this section (and I barely remembered it from childhood; maybe that's why). It seemed really well-structured, with Watson barrelling off across London on an errand of mercy, finding Holmes in disguise, and then an intriguing mystery (which seemed to me at least less obvious than a few of the previous ones).It's not entirely plausible that Neville could support himself through begging, and for so many years, but I was prepared to suspend disbelief. Clearly he was no regular beggar, more of a performer really, and with all his education and charm to his credit. I do wonder how he's going to get back into the regular labour market with a CV reading "beggar" for the past fifteen years though!
I also liked that the racist stereotype of the Lascar was somewhat inverted here; the opium den owner does show some loyalty to his client, they may even be friends!
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I actually said that to my husband after we watched the episode... I think I said how does he expect to support himself and his family now?
Mod
I actually said that to my husband after we watch..."
I wonder if it would help that the idea of gentlemen not working was much more acceptable at the time, and some vague story of "losing my expectations" e.g. that confirmed wealthy bachelor uncle for whom you were the heir marries and produces a male child-would likely be considered a reasonable excuse.
I also quite enjoyed this one, particularly the idea that he could avoid publicity by the fact that no crime was committed.
Frances wrote: "Gem wrote: "Emily wrote: "I do wonder how he's going to get back into the regular labour market with a CV reading "beggar" for the past fifteen years though!"I actually said that to my husband af..."
That's a good workaround! It's so easy to get away with a dodgy CV when you're rich...
I always enjoy the stories, even with the plot holes, but it seemed completely unbelievable to me that Neville could get away with his ruse for so long and that he could disguise himself so completely in a time when makeup, wigs, etc, would not have been of very high quality. Of course, Holmes frequently wears disguises that fool even Watson, but he’s Sherlock Holmes so I accept the idea more easily.
This was really fun to revisit. I remember thinking it was a very “grown up” story with the friend’s husband off in an opium den, and Watson going in after him. The darkness and smokiness and danger! Then… there’s Holmes in one of his disguises! Followed by another missing husband. Murder. Drowning. And another disguise! With a secret life! What a corker!
The best one that I’ve read thus far. What did I think of Watson finding Holmes in an opium den? Well, if I was Watson I would’ve probably thought “even on the job, he just can’t leave it alone“.I too thought that having beggar as you’re only work experience a disadvantage to find employment. However, if it were today, it might put one in the frame for chief executive of a charity.
In my view St. Clair should have been ashamed of himself for conning the public as a beggar. He had no need to beg, therefore Londoners were being cheated into giving charity to someone who didn’t deserve it. He should have done the decent thing and gone back to his job once his assignment had ended. If the public had found out that this popular beggar they had been giving money to for years was an imposter, then all the genuine down and outs in the area would have suffered for years to come. However, it is just the sort of unscrupulous and deceitful behaviour that some people have come to expect from so called undercover reporters.
George Gissing wrote more than one novel about the difficulties of earning a living from writing. His most notable one was New Grub Street and Born in Exile (although not exactly on that topic) is also worth reading.
Oh yes, new grub Street is a newcomer to my (actual) library shelf to be read as soon as time allows! At the moment I’m trying to catch up with Sherlock Holmes episodes.
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At the same time, the story was fun, especially when Watson found Holmes in the opium den.
The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910
Books mentioned in this topic
New Grub Street (other topics)Born in Exile (other topics)
The Man with the Twisted Lip (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)
Availability - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1661
Background Information
"The Man with the Twisted Lip", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the sixth of the twelve stories in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The story was first published in the Strand Magazine in December 1891. Doyle ranked "The Man with the Twisted Lip" sixteenth in a list of his nineteen favorite Sherlock Holmes stories.
Publication History
"The Man with the Twisted Lip" was first published in the UK in The Strand Magazine in December 1891, and in the United States in the US edition of the Strand in January 1892. The story was published with ten illustrations by Sidney Paget in The Strand Magazine. It was included in the short story collection The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which was published in October 1892.
A Short Review
"The Man with the Twisted Lip" is a short story that deals with the abduction, and presumed murder, of the rich investor, Neville St Clair. The abduction had been observed by Neville St Clair’s wife, and although the police had arrested a suspect, the beggar, Hugh Boone, Sherlock Holmes had been retained to uncover all of the events.
This short story is one with many twists and turns and sees Holmes and Dr Watson travelling from an opium den in London down to Kent and back to London again.
Arguably, the tale of "The Man with the Twisted Lip" tells the reader more about the character of Dr Watson than it does of Sherlock Holmes. The detecting prowess of Holmes has already been well established by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle beforehand, as had the lengths the detective would go to in support of his client. In the story of "The Man with the Twisted Lip" we find, though, the lengths that Watson would go to for his friends, and not just for Holmes; Watson willingly goes into the dangerous opium den at the start of the story to find Isa Whitney.
The CBS television series Elementary has used "The Man with the Twisted Lip" as a title for one of its episodes. However, the plot of the episode bears no similarity with the original story.
In August 1986, though, Granada Television did make an episode starring Jeremy Brett, which keeps faithfully to the original story. The Granada episode of "The Man with the Twisted Lip" appears in the third series, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, so it is not in the same order as the original canon.
Points of interest
The ability of St. Clair to earn a good living begging is considered by some to be an unlikely event, but others disagree.
Doyle may have got the idea of a professional man making his money from begging from a short story by William Makepeace Thackeray called "Miss Shum's Husband" (1838).
In one in-universe point of interest, Watson's wife Mary calls him by the name "James" despite his established first name being "John". This led Dorothy L. Sayers to speculate that Mary may be using his middle name Hamish (an Anglicisation of "Sheumais", the vocative form of "Seumas", the Scottish Gaelic for James), though Doyle himself never addresses this beyond including the initial.
June 19 of 1889, the day when the story begins was actually Wednesday, whilst Watson states it's Friday.