Judith Lee: The Man who cut off my Hair & Eavesdropping at Interlaken

Tonight, somebody new — and one of you asked for her without knowing she existed. After our Loveday Brooke episodes, a listener wrote asking for more from Loveday and, in her words, the other female detectives. Here is one almost nobody has heard of. Her name is Judith Lee. She is a teacher of the deaf, and she reads lips — so completely, and from such a distance, that she cannot stop doing it. Across a railway carriage. Through a restaurant window. Between two men at the far end of a hotel terrace who believe themselves entirely private. That is the whole idea, and it is a remarkable one. Judith Lee does not investigate crimes. She overhears them being arranged, by people who have no notion that the quiet young woman in the corner is taking down every word off their mouths. Two cases tonight. THE MAN WHO CUT OFF MY HAIR is the first she ever tells, and it is the one in which she discovers, at twelve years old, what her gift is actually worth — and what it costs. EAVESDROPPING AT INTERLAKEN moves her abroad, and older. A hotel terrace in Switzerland, a view of the mountains, and a conversation at another table she has no business understanding. Her gift, she reflects, places her in a position of some delicacy — which is a very polite way of saying she is about to know something she cannot admit to knowing, and cannot possibly leave alone. Richard Marsh wrote her in nineteen twelve. She is the earliest detective we know of whose gift is a disability turned round, and being able to read a conversation is not at all the same as being able to prove you read it. FOR LISTENERS This is a complete, unabridged reading of these two stories by Richard Marsh, collected in Judith Lee: Some Pages From Her Life (1912) and now in the public domain. Every word is the author's own. Part of The Midnight Archive: three nights of classics every week, alongside four original Nocturnal Tales mysteries. YOU CHOOSE WHAT'S NEXT The Archive is deep — more Judith Lee? Max Carrados? Loveday Brooke? Violet Strange? Sherlock Holmes? Father Brown? Lady Molly? Raffles? Dr Thorndyke? Arsène Lupin? Vote in the poll attached to this episode, or tell us in the comments which classic you want to hear by lamplight. She has no laboratory, no method and no deductions. She simply cannot help understanding, and the stories turn on what a decent person is obliged to do once they do. Should we bring her back? CHAPTERS 00:00 - Introduction 02:20 - Part One - The Man who cut off my Hair 22:22 - Part Two - The Man who cut off my Hair 41:52 - Interlude 42:40 - Part One - Eavesdropping at Interlaken 1:01:34 - Part Two - Eavesdropping at Interlaken 1:20:41 - Part Three - Eavesdropping at Interlaken 1:37:56 - Closing SUPPORT & LISTENING OPTIONS ABOUT THIS RECORDING Judith Lee by Richard Marsh (1912) is in the public domain. This recording is the complete, unabridged original text. Narration and production Nocturnal Tales. CREDITS Narrated and produced by Nocturnal Tales. Story by Richard Marsh (public domain). TAGS / KEYWORDS richard marsh audiobook, judith lee audiobook, judith lee some pages from her life 1912, lip reading detective, female detective audiobook, edwardian lady detective, forgotten detective fiction, early women detectives, classic detective story audiobook, public domain audiobook, unabridged classic mystery HASHTAGS