Devlin the Barber

In Short

Devlin the Barber is a 19th-century Victorian mystery about the sudden disappearance and presumed murder of a young woman named Lizzie Melladew. When a desperate relative sets out to uncover the truth, he crosses paths with Devlin, a mesmerizing, uncanny barber who possesses seemingly supernatural powers of deduction and influence. As Devlin manipulates the suspects and hosts mesmerist trances, the investigation reveals a twisted web of mistaken identity and secret kidnappings. Farjeon’s novel has endured as a gripping bridge between gothic melodrama and early detective fiction.

The Story

The narrative opens with a family facing financial hardship until a modest sum of saved money offers temporary relief. Soon after, news breaks of a tragic murder in Victoria Park: a young woman, believed to be Lizzie Melladew, has been found dead with a bunch of white daisies in her belt. The narrator, drawn into the affair through his acquaintance with Lizzie’s distressed lover, Richard Carton, and her family, agrees to help solve the mystery.

As the narrator investigates, he visits his friend Mrs. Fanny Lemon and her husband, who are being tormented by their new lodger—a mysterious figure known as Devlin the Barber. Devlin exerts a terrifying, hypnotic control over the home, performing impossible card tricks and driving Mr. Lemon into state of trance-like visions. Intrigued and alarmed by Devlin’s uncanny insight into the crime, the narrator enters into a pact with the barber, spending time in Devlin’s shop and agreeing to lodge with him to observe his methods firsthand.

Devlin uses his uncanny mesmerism to read the minds of his patrons, pinpointing suspicious behavior in Kenneth Dowsett, Richard Carton’s guardian. When Dowsett flees London for the coast with his family, the narrator and Devlin pursue him to Margate and across the channel to Boulogne.

In Boulogne, Devlin corners Dowsett and induces a deep hypnotized trance. Under Devlin's control, Dowsett confesses to the crime, only to drop a stunning revelation: he intended to murder Lizzie Melladew to keep her apart from his ward, but in the dark of Victoria Park, he realized too late that the woman he killed was not Lizzie at all.

Hearing a scream from an upper room of the house, the narrator rushes upstairs to discover Mrs. Dowsett holding the real Lizzie Melladew captive. Dowsett had secretly abducted Lizzie and substituted another victim to fake her death. The narrator rescues Lizzie and restores her to her lover Richard Carton, while Devlin slips away into the night, leaving behind a legacy of justice achieved through dark, unfathomable means.

How It Unfolds

A tragedy strikes London News of a horrific murder in Victoria Park spreads through the city, shattering the peace of the Melladew family. The narrator agrees to help track down the killer after meeting the victim's distraught lover and her grieving relatives.

The arrival of Devlin Mrs. Fanny Lemon begs the narrator for help, describing the terrifying influence of her new lodger, Devlin the Barber. Devlin performs disturbing parlor tricks, speaks of the murder with eerie precision, and leaves her husband shaken by dark visions.

A pact with the barber The narrator confront Devlin directly, only to be entranced by the barber's magnetic personality and mysterious insight. They form a pact to solve the crime together, with the narrator observing Devlin's interactions with shop customers.

Pursuit to the coast Devlin identifies Kenneth Dowsett, a guardian involved with the family, as a primary suspect based on his strange behavior while being shaved. When Dowsett abruptly flees London, the investigators track his path to Margate and across to Boulogne.

Trance and rescue Devlin places Dowsett into a mesmerist trance, forcing a public confession that he committed the murder in the park—only to discover he killed the wrong woman. The narrator hears screams upstairs and rescues the true Lizzie Melladew, who had been kept secretly imprisoned.

The People

• The Narrator: A determined family man who accepts the task of unraveling the mystery of Lizzie Melladew's death. He acts as the grounded observer throughout the strange events, maintaining his resolve even when confronting Devlin's bizarre hypnotism.
• Devlin the Barber: An enigmatic, almost supernatural figure who possesses hypnotic powers and uncanny powers of observation. He manipulates those around him to solve the crime, walking the line between villain and instrument of justice before vanishing entirely.
• Mr. Kenneth Dowsett: Guardian to Richard Carton, who hides a murderous secret under a polite exterior. Driven by desperate motives, he attempts to orchestrate a murder and secret imprisonment, only to fall victim to Devlin's mesmeric interrogation.
• Fanny Lemon: The landlady of the lodging house where Devlin stays. She is terrified by Devlin's bizarre influence over her husband and serves as the catalyst who brings the narrator into Devlin's sphere.
• Richard Carton: The devoted lover of Lizzie Melladew, consumed by grief and obsessively wandering the streets to search for her murderer until the truth is uncovered.
• Lizzie Melladew: The young woman whose supposed death sets the plot in motion, later revealed to have been targeted, abducted, and hidden away.

In Its Own Voice

"My blood's a-curdling, sir... It's curdling inside me, sir, to think of what is going to happen to Lemon!"

— Mrs. Fanny Lemon describes the overwhelming, unsettling influence Devlin exerts over her home and husband.

"The last page of her little book of life is reached. There's a lot in that scene to make a body think--it's full of pictures of the past."

— Devlin muses aloud with eerie, poetic detail on the murder in Victoria Park before the facts are public.

"I discovered that the woman I had killed was not Lizzie Melladew!"

— Kenneth Dowsett breaks down under Devlin's mesmeric trance, revealing the dramatic twist at the core of the mystery.

What It's Really About

Devlin the Barber explores the deep anxieties of modern urban life, where millions live side by side while secrets remain hidden in plain sight. Through the character of Devlin, the story questions the nature of justice and moral authority: can evil or manipulative means be justified if they serve to expose a hidden crime? The novel also contrasts cold, calculating human malice—represented by Dowsett's deliberate plotting—with the mystical, mesmeric forces wielded by Devlin. Underneath its sensational melodrama, the book argues that human corruption and urban slums create breeding grounds for crime that society must address.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy classic Victorian sensationalism, gothic mysteries, and early detective stories will find Devlin the Barber an entertaining read. B. L. Farjeon crafts a story rich in period atmosphere, blending classic London street life with elements of mesmerism, psychological manipulation, and theatrical plot twists.

The prose reflects the Victorian serial style, filled with dramatic dialogue and deliberate pacing. While modern readers may find the reliance on hypnotic trances and coincidental encounters somewhat melodramatic, these period elements add to its vintage charm. The book moves briskly toward its climax, delivering an engaging glimpse into 19th-century popular fiction.