第 9 页

Failure: King Wilhelm Failure: Holmes Success: Irene

tries to disguise disguises himself Adler disguises

his identity from as a clergyman, but herself as a youth,

Holmes, but fails Irene realizes and successfully

immediately. who he is. fools Holmes.

and so he has been forced to seek Holmes’s help in locating and recovering the incriminating photo.

The King refers to Irene as a “well-known adventuress,” and many readers have taken his description of her at face value— the myth persists that she is a conniving blackmailer who uses her sexual wiles to make her way in the world. However, the King presents Irene in this way in order to justify his ill-treatment of her: he admits he has made several highhanded, even criminal, attempts to recover the photograph—including offering to pay for its return, hiring burglars to steal it, and even twice ransacking her home—all of which have failed.

When Holmes consults his biographical card index, it reveals Irene Adler to be a retired opera singer who has sung at La Scala in Milan and was prima donna at the Warsaw Opera. To have reached those heights, she must have been a serious artist, rather than an amoral gold-digger. When the King admits Irene has not attempted to extort money from him, it is clear Holmes has already come to a different conclusion about Irene. Holmes yawns at the King’s arrogance, and can barely wait for him to leave. Uncharacteristically, he also discusses his fee—making the point that his only interest in this case is financial.

Holmes’s plan in action

The following afternoon, Holmes meets Watson after a morning’s investigation. He is amused and excited about the success of his efforts, and by the astonishing turn that events have taken. Disguised as a groom, he has been chatting with the men caring for the horses in a mews behind Irene’s house, and has learned a great deal about her.

The grooms, who would usually be first to spot anything salacious, described Irene respectfully as “the daintiest thing under a bonnet on this planet.” Indeed, she seems to live a normal, ordered life, and their only noteworthy observation is that she receives frequent visits from a handsome young lawyer named Godfrey Norton. Spotting Irene and Godfrey both leaving the house hurriedly in separate carriages, Holmes swiftly followed, only to find himself drafted in as witness to their legitimate and happy wedding in the Church of St. Monica in Edgware Road.

No wonder Holmes can barely contain his delight, especially as he has devised a “fool-proof plan” for recovering the photo, based on what he believes is his infallible knowledge of female psychology.

Later in the day, as per Holmes’s scheme, Watson is standing outside Irene’s house and watches the events that unfold: as Irene steps out of her carriage, a staged brawl between several men breaks out, and Holmes, this time disguised as a clergyman, comes to Irene’s rescue. However, he soon collapses to the ground with blood dripping down his face. Concerned for his welfare, Irene has him carried inside the house, to recover ❯❯

60 THE EARLY ADVENTURES

Holmes’s file on Irene Adler reveals that she was a talented contralto who once sang at the prestigious La Scala in Milan (pictured).

on the sitting room sofa. What Watson sees through the window is a lovely, kind young woman tenderly nursing the injured Holmes—not a femme fatale with a victim in her clutches. As he battles to decide what to do, Holmes gives him the pre-arranged signal to hurl a smoke bomb through the window and raise the alarm with a cry of “Fire!”

Just as Holmes has predicted, in the panic caused by the bomb Irene rushes to save the one thing that is most important to her—the photograph—and so reveals its hiding place in a recess behind a sliding panel. After confirming the fire was a false alarm, Holmes slips out of the house, intending to return the following day with the King to claim the picture. Holmes is so pleased with himself that he barely notices the young man who greets him cheerily in a strangely familiar voice as he and Watson arrive at the front door of 221B.

A surprise for Holmes

The next morning, when Holmes and Watson arrive at Irene’s home for their surprise visit, Holmes is amazed to find that the housekeeper has been expecting him— and to hear that Irene left for the Continent hours earlier, along with her new husband, taking

Male costume is nothing new to me. I often take advantage of the freedom which it gives.

Irene Adler

the photograph with her. In its hiding place, she has left a letter to Holmes, and a photograph of herself in evening dress for the King.

Irene’s letter explains that she had realized the clergyman was Holmes in disguise the instant she betrayed the photograph’s hiding place—although she congratulates him on his performance. But to be certain that he was indeed the famous detective, she had dressed up as a youth and followed him home, and it was she who had greeted him outside his door.

One of the fascinating things about this episode is the way that it focuses on Holmes’s mastery of disguise—and yet Irene beats him at his own game. She tells Holmes that, as a trained actress, it is easy for her to wear “male costume,” and that she has dressed up as a youth on many occasions, in order to enjoy the freedom of being incognito. In fact, it may not have been so unusual for a woman to disguise herself in male clothes to pass in a

A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA 61

man’s world. There is the renowned story of James Barry (born Margaret Ann Bulkley)—a woman who spent her entire life disguised as a man so she could pursue a career as a military doctor; likewise, there are many folk songs about women who joined the army in disguise.

The tradition of the undercover detective, though, goes back to the famous Eugène Vidocq (1775–1857), a French criminal-turned-detective in Napoleon’s time (see box, p.317), whose amazing stories captivated 19th-century writers, such as Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas, as well as Honoré de Balzac. They were surely an inspiration for Conan Doyle, too, together with the famous explorer Richard Burton (1821–1890), whose many exploits in disguise, such as sneaking into Mecca dressed as a Muslim, so intrigued Victorians.

A worthy adversary

In “A Scandal in Bohemia,” Irene sees through Holmes’s disguise, despite his brilliance, and it is she who pulls the wool over his eyes. She escapes with her picture, and it seems that for her—as so often with Holmes—winning the game is enough. Now happily married,

…the best laid plans of Mr. Sherlock Holmes were beaten by a woman’s wit.

Dr. Watson

she declares in the letter that she has no interest in making the photo public, but will keep it as insurance should it ever be needed.

The King is certain that Irene will keep her word, and goes on to rue that she was not of his rank, as she would have made a great queen. “From what I have seen of the lady” Holmes responds coolly, “she seems indeed to be on a very different level to your Majesty.” It is clear that in Holmes’s opinion, she is far above him. The King offers Holmes an emerald ring as a reward for his work, but he asks instead to have Irene’s photograph. Some readers insist that Holmes’s choice

The bohemians

Bohemia is a real place that was once a kingdom, but is now a region in the Czech Republic. However, “Bohemia” was also the imaginary spiritual home of the gypsy people, which is why, in the mid-19th century, the term “bohemian” came to refer to the unconventional, rootless lifestyle practiced by some artists, writers, and musicians. The bohemians were associated with romantic living—they were dedicated to artistic creation and free love— and some rejected material

shows he is in love with Irene. But he never mentions her again in the stories, except to acknowledge, as in “The Five Orange Pips” (pp.74–9), that there was one woman who got the better of him. His regard for her is unmistakable, and the photograph is either simply for his files or a memento of a worthy adversary.

There is no doubt that Irene Adler is a fascinating character, and many feminist critics have commented on how she presents a challenge to the notion that reason, logic, and independent action are a male prerogative. American scholar Rosemary Jann believes that Irene “threatens male authority.” Yet Holmes, although shaken, does not seem threatened. Instead, he demonstrates perfectly his dictum that one should not be blinded by preconceptions. Irene has opened his eyes wonderfully.

In realizing his error, and being aware that a woman can easily take control of a situation without resorting to sexual power games or emotionalism, Conan Doyle’s Holmes seems far ahead of his time. More than a century on, it is a lesson that some adapters of this story have been slower to learn. ■

wealth. With their soft, colorful clothes and unkempt hair, they were easy to recognize. Some bohemians were political rebels, but for many it was just a way of life. Most were poor and lived in run-down neighborhoods such as Montmartre in Paris, Soho in London, and Telegraph Hill in San Francisco, but there were rich bohemians, too—those who rejected society’s values. Bohemianism appeared in cities in Europe and the US in the mid-1800s, and reached its peak in the 1890s, when Conan Doyle wrote “A Scandal in Bohemia.”

I REALLY

WOULDN’T MISS

YOUR CASE FOR

THE WORLD

THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE (1891)

IN CONTEXT

TYPE

Short story

FIRST PUBLICATION

UK: August 1891

COLLECTION

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1892

CHARACTERS Jabez Wilson Pawnbroker.

Vincent Spaulding

Assistant at Jabez Wilson’s pawnshop.

Duncan Ross

Man at the offices of the Red-Headed League.

Peter Jones

Scotland Yard detective.

Mr. Merryweather

Chairman of the City and Suburban Bank.

A

lthough “The Red-Headed League” was written after “A Case of Identity” (pp.68–9), it was the first of the two to be published in The Strand Magazine. Some Holmesian scholars have surmised that the Strand considered “The Red-Headed League” to be the better story, and wanted to establish the detective’s popularity as quickly as possible—it was certainly one of Conan Doyle’s favorites. But there is another, perhaps more likely reason: “The Red-Headed League” took just seven days to write, and Conan Doyle finished the first three short stories during April 1891. There

THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE 63

Holmes’s analysis of Jabez Wilson

Wilson’s right hand His tattoo of a fish

He is wearing an

is “quite a size is “quite peculiar to

arc-and-compass

larger” than his left, China,” and he has

breastpin (an emblem

and his muscles are a Chinese coin on

of the Freemasons).

more developed. his watch chain.

Jabez Wilson has worked in manual labor, is a Freemason, has been in China, and has done a considerable amount of writing lately.

His right cuff is very shiny, and his left cuff has a smooth patch near the elbow where it rests upon a desk.

is a good chance that “The Red-Headed League” and “A Case of Identity” were sent to the Strand together, resulting in a confusion about their intended order. Holmes’s reference in this story to “the very simple problem presented by Miss Mary Sutherland” (who appears in “A Case of Identity”) makes this mistake clear.

This is a story which focuses on gullibility and credulousness, and Conan Doyle brings attention to the bizarre, almost unbelievable nature of the case as a claim for its veracity. As Holmes remarks, “…for strange effects and extraordinary combinations we must go to life itself… always far more daring than any effort of the imagination.”

Commonplace beginnings

Watson calls on Holmes one day to find him deep in conversation with Jabez Wilson, a pawnbroker, who is a man florid of face, stout, and altogether an unremarkable example of “an average commonplace British tradesman”—that is, except for his mane of fiery red hair. Holmes swiftly realizes that Wilson is a Freemason. Conan Doyle was, at times, a member of this secret society, but here Holmes makes a pointed reference to “your order,” showing the detective’s aloofness from it, contrary to speculation that Holmes himself was a mason. Holmes also observes that Wilson has been doing a great deal of writing; and this remarkable case revolves around this mundane task.

Little sympathy

It is unlikely that Wilson, as a pawnbroker, would have aroused much sympathy in contemporary ❯❯

Jabez Wilson (played by Roger Hammond in the 1984 Granada television production) is ushered through crowds of red-headed men.

64 THE EARLY ADVENTURES

readers, as his trade is the equivalent of today’s thriving high-interest payday loan industry—a service to which poorer people were often obliged to turn, using jewelry and other valuables as security to borrow cash. Wilson himself remarks that his work is “mostly done of an evening, Mr. Holmes, especially Thursday and Friday evening, which is just before pay-day.” Nevertheless, Wilson tends not to leave his premises very often.

Wilson’s story

Wilson tells Holmes and Watson that two months previously, his new assistant, Vincent Spaulding, alerted him to an advertisement in the newspaper. It was placed by an organization called the Red-Headed League, based in the US in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, but with an office in (fictional) Pope’s Court, off Fleet Street. The League sought “red-headed men… above the age of twenty- one years” to apply for a post involving “purely nominal services,” at a weekly rate of £4. This amount was not to be sniffed at: Conan Doyle was only paid £25 for this

The Boylston Bank Robbery

Your case is an exceedingly remarkable one, and I shall be happy to look into it.

Sherlock Holmes

story, even though he was soon able to command much higher fees. On the appointed day, says Wilson, Fleet Street was awash with men with red hair, and the thoroughfare looked like a “coster’s orange barrow”—costermongers being a kind of greengrocer seen all over London (the name comes from a medieval word for apple). The image is both potent and bizarre. At the offices of this League, Duncan Ross (his name is taken from the Italian, rosso, meaning red) delightedly offers Wilson first refusal on the job. His “test” of the pawnbroker’s hair is to tug on it

Although Holmes declares “The Red-Headed League” to be a ruse without precedent, the heist itself was not so original. In November 1869, a remarkably similar bank robbery took place in Boston, Massachusetts. Charley Bullard and Adam Worth (who may have been the inspiration for Moriarty, pp.28–9) tunneled into the Boylston National Bank from a neighboring shop, then shipped their loot down the east coast to New York. The Boston Tribune called it “one of the most bold and successful robberies which has ever been perpetrated in this