- A Scandal in Bohemia
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"A Scandal in Bohemia" by Arthur Conan Doyle Released 1891 Series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Client(s) The King of Bohemia Set in March 1888 Villain(s) Either Irene Adler, or the King of Bohemia, depending on interpretation 
Holmes, Watson and the king of Bohemia
"A Scandal in Bohemia" was the first of Arthur Conan Doyle's 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories to be published in The Strand Magazine and the first Sherlock Holmes story illustrated by Sidney Paget. (Two of the four Sherlock Holmes novels – A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four – preceded the short story cycle). Doyle ranked "A Scandal in Bohemia" fifth in his list of his twelve favorite Holmes stories.
Contents
Plot summary
While the currently-married Watson is paying Holmes a visit, Holmes is called upon by a masked gentleman introducing himself as Count Von Kramm, an agent for a wealthy client, but Holmes quickly deduces that he is in fact Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein and the hereditary King of Bohemia. The King admits this, tearing off his mask.
It transpires that the King is to become engaged to Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen, a young Scandinavian princess, but the King's in-laws-to-be would not allow the marriage should any evidence of his former liaison with the opera singer, Irene Adler, originally from New Jersey, be revealed to them. Adler herself is threatening to reveal the relationship upon the announcement of the King's betrothal by sending a photograph of the King (then the Crown Prince) and Adler together to the newspapers. The King's agents have tried to recover the photograph, attempting to buy it, breaking into her house to try to find it, and waylaying her outside her home to retrieve it.
The photograph is described to Holmes as a cabinet (5½ by 4 inches) and therefore too bulky for a lady to carry upon her person. The King gives Holmes £1,000 (£83,000 in 2008[1]) to cover any expenses, while saying that he "would give one of [his] provinces" to have the photograph back. Holmes asks Dr. Watson to join him at 221B Baker Street at 3 o'clock the following afternoon.
The next morning, Holmes goes out to Miss Adler's house dressed as a drunken out-of-work groom and discovers from the local stable workers that Irene Adler has a gentleman friend, the lawyer Godfrey Norton, who calls at least once a day. On this particular day, Norton comes to visit Miss Adler, and soon afterwards, takes a cab to the Church of St. Monica in Edgware Road. Minutes later, the lady herself gets in her landau bound for the same place. Holmes follows in a cab and, upon arriving, finds himself dragged into the church to be a witness to Norton and Adler's wedding. Curiously, they go their separate ways after the ceremony.
Commentary
At the start of the story Watson says he has seldom heard Holmes call Irene Adler anything but 'The Woman'. However, the other stories in which he calls her 'Irene Adler'("A Case of Identity," "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle," and "His Last Bow") were all written by Conan Doyle after "A Scandal in Bohemia" and take place after the time represented in "A Scandal in Bohemia." [1]
Adaptations
William Gillette's 1899 stage play Sherlock Holmes is based on several stories, among them "A Scandal in Bohemia." Films released in 1916 (starring Gillette as Holmes) and 1922 (starring John Barrymore), both titled Sherlock Holmes, were based on the play, as well as a 1938 Mercury Theatre on the Air radio adaptation titled The Immortal Sherlock Holmes, starring Orson Welles as Holmes.[2]
The 1946 film Dressed to Kill features several references to "A Scandal in Bohemia," with Holmes and Watson discussing the recent publication of the story in The Strand Magazine, and the villain of the film using the same trick on Watson that Holmes uses on Irene Adler in the story. In addition, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, who played Holmes and Watson in the film, did the story for their radio series, The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The episode was followed by a sequel, "Second Generation", featuring Irene's daughter hiring Holmes in retirement.
The 1965 Broadway musical Baker Street was loosely based on the story, making Irene Adler into the heroine and adding Professor Moriarty as the villain.[3]
"A Scandal in Bohemia" was adapted as the first episode of the 1984-1985 television series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The episode featured Jeremy Brett as Holmes, David Burke as Watson, and Gayle Hunnicutt as Irene Adler.
"A Scandal in Bohemia" was featured in a season 1 episode of the PBS series Wishbone, entitled "A Dogged Exposé". In the episode, the supporting human characters search for an incognito photographer at their school who has been publishing embarrassing photographs of students. Intermingled with the plot, the title character Wishbone portrays Sherlock Holmes in a slightly modified adaptation of the original story to compare with the events of the "real-life" plot.
A series of four TV movies produced in the early 2000s starred Matt Frewer as Sherlock Holmes and Kenneth Welsh as Dr. Watson. One of these films, The Royal Scandal, adapted "A Scandal in Bohemia" and combined its story with "The Bruce-Partington Plans."
"A Scandal in Bohemia" will be the basis for "A Scandal in Belgravia", the first episode of the second season of the TV series Sherlock, to air in early 2012.[4]
Fictional monarchies
Rather than create a fictional country for the King in his story, as in the Ruritanian tales, Conan Doyle chose to place a fictional dynasty in a real country. The Kingdom of Bohemia was at the time of writing a possession of the House of Habsburg and had no independent monarchs of its own. Similarly, there had never been a Kingdom of Scandinavia.
References
- ^ http://www.sherlockpeoria.net/Who_is_Sherlock/SherlockTimeline.html
- ^ The Mercury Theatre on the Air
- ^ "Baker Street". Musical Show. http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_b/baker_street.htm. Retrieved 24 September 2010., Broadway Theatre - New York - 16 February 1965: transferred to the Martin Beck Theatre closing 14 November 1965
- ^ "BBC One's BAFTA-nominated Sherlock begins filming second series". BBC Press Office. 16-05-2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2011/05_may/16/sherlock.shtml. Retrieved 16-05-2011.
External links
Wikimedia links
Works related to A Scandal in Bohemia at Wikisource 
Media related to A Scandal in Bohemia at Wikimedia CommonsThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle "A Scandal in Bohemia" · "The Red-Headed League" · "A Case of Identity" · "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" · "The Five Orange Pips" · "The Man with the Twisted Lip" · "The Blue Carbuncle" · "The Speckled Band" · "The Engineer's Thumb" · "The Noble Bachelor" · "The Beryl Coronet" · "The Copper Beeches"
Categories:- Sherlock Holmes short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle
- 1891 short stories
- Bohemia
- Works originally published in The Strand Magazine
- Story stubs
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