A Scandal in Bohemia

The one woman who ever bested the Great Detective.

Opening The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes collection, this tale introduces the formidable Irene Adler to the world. When the King of Bohemia seeks Holmes's aid to retrieve a compromising photograph before his marriage, he discovers that even the Great Detective can be outmaneuvered by a woman of singular intellect and daring. Holmes fails to recover the photograph, and from then on he always refers to Adler as 'the woman', as a way of honoring her victory over him.' In Doyle's stories Holmes admires her only for her wit and cunning; it is in derivative works that she is often made a romantic interest.

Quick Facts

Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
Series: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Genre: Detective fiction short stories
Published in: Strand Magazine
Published: June 1891
Followed by: The Red-Headed League

Lore & Background

The plot hinges on a photograph threatening to derail a dynastic marriage, serving as the catalyst for a psychological duel rather than a standard criminal investigation. Adler, warned that the king would probably send Holmes, follows him to Baker Street to confirm who he is and then leaves England with her new husband, Godfrey Norton. The encounter redefines Holmes's relationship with those he investigates. The resolution leaves a lasting mark on the detective: Watson records that he always referred to Adler as 'the woman' from that point on.

Reader's Guide

The story begins with the arrival of the King of Bohemia, who fears that a scandalous photograph taken during his affair with American opera singer Irene Adler will be used to blackmail him before his wedding. He hires Sherlock Holmes to retrieve the image without causing a public scene. A disguised Holmes first visits Adler's neighbourhood alone, learns her daily routine from the local ostlers, and ends up as a witness at her wedding to the lawyer Godfrey Norton. To gain entry, Holmes arranges for several men to start a fight outside her home and pretends to be hurt in the scuffle, so that he is carried inside. Watson then throws in a smoke bomb and shouts fire, and Adler's reaction shows Holmes where the photograph is hidden; when he returns the next morning with the king, she and Norton have left England with it, leaving a note and a picture of Adler alone.