This story, considered by Arthur Conan Doyle to be his best Sherlock Holmes mystery, features one of his most creative (and unlikeliest) murder plots. Thirty-year-old Helen, Holmes’s client, is a victim of Victorian attitudes towards women. Fearing for their future, her dead mother had decided that she and twin sister Julia would not receive their inheritances until they married. Their violent stepfather, who manages the money, will become destitute should either of them wed. After announcing her engagement, Julia dies under mysterious circumstances. Helen fears that she will be next. Themes: decay, isolation, fear, murder, class, greed, hasty judgement, justice.
Original Text / PDF / Audio (9,822 words)
Video Version
This 1984 British TV show is an excellent adaption of the story. My only disappointment came in first few minutes where, in a segment not included in the text version, a young Gypsy boy is portrayed stealing from a villager. This did nothing for the story, and gratuitously perpetuates the negative stereotype of Romani people. Watch and enjoy!
Radio Play Version
There have been many radio play adaptions of the story. This 1991 episode of the Sherlock Holmes BBC Radio 4 series is one of the best. Listen and enjoy!