A Scandal in Bohemia

“A Scandal in Bohemia” (1891) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has the distinction of being the first short story to feature literature’s most famous sleuth, Sherlock Holmes. The Sherlock Holmes stories were originally serialized in The Strand Magazine, and the famous British literary magazine published Doyle’s works from 1891 to 1930. Doyle also featured his iconic amateur detective in four novels and several collections, including A Study in Scarlet (1887), The Sign of Four (1890), The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902), and The Valley of Fear (1915).

“A Scandal in Bohemia” takes place in London in 1888 and features Holmes’s confidant, Dr. John Watson. Holmes’s elusive female adversary, Irene Adler, also makes her first appearance in the series. Upon its publication, the work quickly became a success and helped launch the storied fictional career of Sherlock Holmes that would span almost three decades.

This study guide refers to the 1891 version published in The Strand Magazine.

Content Warning: The story contains mentions of drug use.

Dr. John Watson stops by the Baker Street residence and finds Sherlock Holmes, his “former friend and companion” (61), preoccupied with a new case. Holmes has garnered an international reputation for his detective skills as far as Sri Lanka and Holland. For this reason, Holmes receives an opulent yet cryptic letter requesting his services, which he deduces is from the Kingdom of Bohemia. Watson and Holmes wait for the arrival of this mysterious Bohemian guest. The guest arrives in a fanciful outfit of “opulence” (64). He dons a mask and refers to himself as the Bohemian nobleman Count Von Kramm. Holmes, however, has already deduced his true identity: “Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein, and hereditary King of Bohemia” (65). The King presents a case of the utmost urgency to Holmes. The Bohemian royal explains that he is being extorted by a former romantic partner, the famed opera singer and “adventuress” Irene Adler. The King is set to marry the princess of Scandinavia; however, Adler is threatening to expose their past romantic dalliance to the princess’s family in an attempt to prevent their marriage. Holmes suggests that Adler’s threat is rather empty since hearsay and conjecture can be disproven. The King admits that a lapse in judgment on his part led to a photograph being taken of himself with Adler. Despite hiring agents to ambush Adler to recuperate this incriminating photograph, the King has been unsuccessful in retrieving it. With no other recourse, he contracts Holmes’s services in the hopes that the famed sleuth may obtain the photograph. Holmes agrees to take on the case and asks the King for Adler’s home address.

The next day, Holmes deploys one of his classic stratagems to solve the case: disguise. Dressed up as an out-of-work groom (stable worker), Holmes goes on a fact-finding mission to Adler’s residence at Briony Lodge. After coaxing information from other workers on the premises, Holmes finds out that Adler is frequently seen in the company of a gentleman lawyer by the name of Mr. Godfrey Norton. At that moment, a carriage approaches the Briony Lodge residence, and a “handsome” gentleman emerges and enters Adler’s house. Holmes then sees him return to his carriage in great haste and tells the driver to head quickly for the Church of St. Monica. A few minutes later, Adler emerges from her home and gives the same command to her carriage driver. Holmes finds a carriage to follow them to the church, where he enters still dressed as a disheveled groom. Once inside, he finds Adler and Godfrey Norton standing together next to a chaplain. Norton notices Holmes lurking in the church and asks him to act as a witness for their marriage ceremony. Holmes, befuddled by his current situation, acts as the witness, which helps the couple seal their marriage.

Upon returning to his office on Baker Street, Holmes finds Watson and recounts his entire experience. He devises a plan to discover the hiding place of the photograph and asks Watson to carry out four simple tasks. Watson is to accompany Holmes to Adler’s residence, stand by the living room’s open window, throw a decoy projectile into the house through the window and yell “Fire!,” and then run to the corner of the street and wait for Holmes. The next day, both men arrive at Adler’s residence. Holmes has disguised himself once more, this time as a clergyman. He orchestrates a fight with some men who surround Adler’s carriage once it arrives at her house. Holmes plays the chivalrous gentleman who tries to extricate Adler from the rowdy group of men. He convincingly feigns a bloody facial injury using red paint and pretends to need immediate medical help. Adler offers her residence, and Holmes successfully finds his way into her living room. He asks the maid to open the window for more air and then signals to Watson to throw the smoke-rocket in. As Holmes predicted, Watson’s projectile and cry of “Fire” puts the house into a state of panic. He extricates himself from the house and joins Watson at the street corner. Holmes recounts how he has ascertained the location of the photograph through his clever fire ruse. Holmes explains that people typically grab their most prized possession when they believe there is a fire. In assuming that the incriminating photograph is dear to Adler, Holmes devised the ploy so that she would rush to the hiding spot of the photograph. As predicted, Holmes saw Adler remove the photograph from a secret compartment near the bed. However, since Adler’s coachman was in the same room at that moment, Holmes was unable to take possession of the photo.

As Holmes and Watson return to the Baker Street residence, they hear a thin young male say “Goodnight, Mister Sherlock Holmes” (73) as he walks by. Holmes notes that the voice sounds familiar, although he is unable to place it. Watson notifies the King of the case’s development, who in turn acts with relief and haste to retrieve the photograph as quickly as possible. The next day, all three men descend upon Adler’s residence only to find out from her housekeeper that she and her husband fled for the US. She did, however, leave a note for Holmes in which she admits to having suspicions about him after she unwittingly revealed the photograph’s hiding spot. Later that night, she went to his Baker Street residence disguised as a young man to confirm his identity. As for the incriminating photograph, she assures him that it will not see the light of day and that she is happily married to a better man. Even still, she will continue to keep the photograph as insurance against the King’s future actions. She offers another photograph in return, one of just herself. The King, relieved, offers to pay Holmes a handsome royal reward in the form of an emerald snake ring, which he declines. Instead, Holmes asks for Adler’s photograph as his only compensation. In having been bested by a clever woman, Holmes henceforth refers to Adler only as “the woman” (75).