A Scandal in Bohemia

For the Sherlock episode, see A Scandal in Belgravia

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Stub

“A Scandal in Bohemia”
Illustration by Sidney Paget
Informations
Foreign names	See section
Parution	July, 1891 (The Strand Magazine) August, 1891 (The Strand Magazine US)
Client(s)	Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Followed by	The Red-Headed League

”

“To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a lover he would have placed himself in a false position. He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer.”
– First lines of the story describing Sherlock Holmes' feelings about Irene Adler

“A Scandal in Bohemia” is the first short story from the twelve in the cycle collected as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in The Strand Magazine on June, 1891.

Storyline

Dr. John Watson visits Sherlock Holmes at 221B Baker Street, where Holmes informs him of an impending visit from a mysterious client. Soon, a masked man arrives, identifying himself as Count Von Kramm but quickly revealing that he is, in fact, Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, the King of Bohemia. The King explains that he is engaged to a Scandinavian princess, but there is a problem: he once had a relationship with an intelligent and beautiful woman named Irene Adler. She possesses a photograph of the two of them together, which could ruin his impending marriage. The King has tried everything to retrieve it, but Adler has proven too clever. Desperate, he turns to Holmes for help.

Holmes begins investigating Adler, learning that she is a retired opera singer who now lives in London. She is engaged to a lawyer named Godfrey Norton, whom she sees regularly. While following her, Holmes witnesses Norton rushing to a church, and moments later, Adler arrives. To his surprise, the two are hastily married. Holmes realizes this complicates the situation, as the photograph may now be in the possession of her husband. That evening, Holmes devises a clever ruse. Disguised as a clergyman, he stages an incident outside Adler’s home, pretending to be injured. As planned, Adler takes him inside to recover. While inside, Holmes signals Watson, who throws a smoke rocket through the window and shouts “Fire!” In the chaos, Adler instinctively rushes to the location of her most valuable possession: the photograph. Holmes notes where she looks, revealing its hiding place.

Holmes departs, planning to retrieve the photograph the next morning. However, when he and the King return, they find that Adler has already left England. A letter addressed to Holmes reveals that she recognized his disguise and saw through his trick. Knowing she was being watched, she decided to flee with her husband and take the photograph with her, ensuring it will never be used against the King. She leaves behind a portrait of herself as a token of respect. Holmes, impressed by her intelligence and foresight, acknowledges that Irene Adler has bested him. The King, relieved that the photograph is no longer a threat, offers Holmes a valuable ring as payment, but Holmes instead requests only Adler’s photograph as a keepsake. From that day forward, Holmes refers to her simply as "the woman," the only person who ever truly outwitted him.

Characters

Real figures cited

James Boswell

Illustrations

Illustrations by Sidney Paget in The Strand Magazine (July, 1891)
Then he stood before the fire.
I carefully examined the writing.
A man entered.
He tore the mask from his face.
A drunken-looking groom.
I found myself mumbling responses.
A simple-minded clergyman.
He gave a cry and dropped.
Good night, Mr Sherlock Holmes.
This photograph!

Illustrations in The Inter Ocean (July 11, 1891)
I am the King.
I saw it as she half drew it out.

Illustrations by Martin Van Maële (Société d'Édition et de Publications, 1905-1906)

Illustrations by Josef Friedrich (1906)
I saw his tall, spare figure pass twice in a dark silhouette against the blind.
'Pray take a seat,' said Holmes.
A drunken-looking groom walked into the room.
I was half-dragged up to the altar.
He was borne into Briony Lodge.
This photograph!

Illustration by George Grinham in The St. Louis Star (May 28, 1911)
A Scandal in Bohemia, by A. Conan Doyle

Illustration by Gaston Simoes da Fonseca (Félix Juven, 1909)
With the chest and limbs of a Hercules...
He gave me all the needed informations about Miss Adler.
I was just wondering whether I should not do well to follow them.
He gave a cry and dropped to the ground.
She would rush to secure it.

Foreign names

French - Un scandal en Bohème
Spanish - Escándalo en Bohemia
Catalan - Escàndol a Bohèmia
German - Ein Skandal in Böhmen
Italian - Uno scandalo in Boemia
Polish - Skandal w Bohemii
Królewski skandal, Niezwykła kobieta
Skandal w Czechac
Euskara - Eskandalua Bohemian