A Scandal in Bohemia
"And that was how a great scandal threatened to affect the kingdom of Bohemia, and how the best plans of Mr. Sherlock Holmes were beaten by a woman’s wit."
Bohemian kings, wild disguises, shotgun weddings and a fire all come together in this greatest of Doyle’s tales. The first of over fifty short stories Doyle published about his fictional sleuth, “A Scandal in Bohemia” introduces us to the woman who casts the longest shadow over the canon - Irene Adler, of dubious and questionable memory.
"A Scandal in Bohemia" was Doyle's first short story about Holmes and Watson, and its impact colors the way we consider the rest of the canon. Kings and Boswells, romances and menswear and Holmes's misogyny. What truly is the point of Scandal? And why does everybody forget about Godfrey Norton?
Thanks to Natalie, Madeline, Jamie, Madison, Robert and Sara for sending in their thoughts about all things Irene Adler!
Find a transcript - Further reading for this episode
Listen to our narration:
This story is narrated by Natalie Hunter. Natalie has been a fan of the Holmes stories for as long as she can remember; her all-time favourite adaptation is the Granada series, though Great Mouse Detective holds a special place in her heart. A research administrator by day, Natalie plays Jenny Millay on Superstition, and is involved in various performance projects including the global remote choir The Self-Isolation Choir. Find her on Twitter @nataliehunter.
Music credit: The songs “Denmark (Live)” by the Portland Cello Project and Sonata for Cello and Piano No 1 in E minor Op.38 by Johannes Brahms, performed by Wendy Warner, cello and Eileen Buck, piano, are featured with an Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Further reading:
Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street and Nero Wolfe of West 35th Street, William Baring-Gould
Sherlock Holmes (play), William Gillette and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure (play), Steven Dietz
Baker Street (musical), book by Jerome Coopersmith, lyrics by Marian Grudeff, Raymond Jessel and Sheldon Harnick, composed by the above plus Jerry Bock
Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady dir. Peter Sasdy
“A Dogged Expose” from Wishbone
The Canary Trainer, Nicholas Meyer
Good Night, Mr. Holmes, Carole Nelson Douglas
For Freedom, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
The Phantom of the Opera dir. Joe Schumaker
We recommend Josephine Baker’s Last Dance by Sherry Jones as well as the chapters on her life in A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib
Other cases mentioned in this discussion: SECO, SIGN, STUD, MUSG, SPEC, FINA