In 2026 I plan to read all the Conan Doyle “Sherlock Holmes” works – 56 short stories and 4 novels (here’s why and how). If you haven’t already read it, Michael Green’s “undiscovered letter” from John Watson is fricking hilarious.
I may also read various Holmes homages/pastiches etc. Who knows? (btw I’d recommend the Seven Per Cent Solution, by Nicholas Meyer where Watson has to trick Holmes into going to Vienna to be treated by Sigmund Freud)
Title: Review of Sherlock Holmes Short Story 1/56: “A Scandal in Bohemia “
Published: July 1891
Wikipedia here
Review: I would recommend this – it is the first short story and clearly blew everyone’s minds. The familiar stuff – Watson being astonished, a “mysterious” client, hansom cabs, Mrs Hudson etc etc here (no Lestrade or Baker Street Irregulars)
Irene Adler is a great creation, and it’s interesting Doyle never revisited her – didn’t like his hero being outshone by a penis-less human being?.
Best sentence(s):
To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman.
… and alternating from week to week between cocaine and ambition, the drowsiness of the drug, and the fierce energy of his own keen nature.
What was going on at the time?
European royalty doing nefarious things, not keeping their genitals to themselves etc
How it was received:
Rapturously, I think
How it has been adapted etc:
Repeatedly, including – and apparently not well – “A Scandal in Belgravia”
Words I didn’t know:
| Iodoform | Iodoform- Iodoform (also known as triiodomethane) is the organoiodine compound with the chemical formula CHI3. It is a pale yellow, crystalline, volatile substance, with a penetrating and distinctive odor (in older chemistry texts, the smell is sometimes referred to as that of hospitals, where the compound is still commonly used) and, analogous to chloroform, sweetish taste. It is occasionally used as a disinfectant. | |
| Astrakhan | Astrakhan – The Canadian military fur wedge cap, “envelope busby“,[citation needed] or colloquially “The Astrakhan“[1][2] is a uniform hat worn by the Canadian military and RCMP. The outside of the cap is entirely covered in real (e.g. seal skin or Persian lamb) or synthetic fur and is shaped like a wedge. When not being worn the cap folds flat. The cap is about 8 inches (200 mm) high but is normally worn with the apex of the wedge shape depressed back into the interior of the cap to form a longitudinal trough at the crown, reducing the overall height. | |
| Vizard | Vizard – A visard, also known as a vizard, is an oval mask of black velvet which was worn by travelling women in the early modern period to protect their skin from sunburn, as a tan suggested that the bearer worked outside and was hence poor.[1] Performers in court masques also disguised themselves with masks called visards, recorded in England as early as 1377.[2] Visards were either held in place by a fastening or ribbon tie, or the wearer clasped a bead attached to the interior of the mask between their teeth.[3] | |
| Ulster | Ulster – The Ulster is distinguished from the Inverness coat by the length of the cape. In the Ulster, the cape only reaches just past the elbows, allowing free movement of the forearms. In the Inverness coat, the cape is as long as the sleeves, and eventually replaced the sleeves in the Inverness cape. The Ulster was commonly worn by coachmen who would be seated outdoors in bad weather for long periods, but needed to use their arms to hold reins. |
Allusions I had to look up: none, but my eyes may have skipped over them…
See also: Mary Sue
To read someday
Popłońska, Magdalena (2014). “Whodunit to Irene Adler? From “the Woman” to “the Dominatrix” – on the Transformation of the Heroine in the Adapting Process and Her Representation in the Sherlock Miniseries”. Analyses/Rereadings/Theories Journal. 2 (1): 41. hdl:11089/22954
Romero, Adriana Victoria (2021). “The Woman: Irene Adler in Literature, Media, and “A Scandal In Bohemia”. Theses and Dissertations (145).
marchudson.net 
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