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Original poster

Anyone know about Irene Adler in Sherlock Holmes

35 replies

ChilliMochaCoco · 02/01/2026 13:17

I'm posting here for traffic.
Dd13 has to do an English essay about Irene Adler, a character in one of the Sherlock Holmes books. She is convinced that there is a Jacobean setting and I said it is a Victorian setting. Can anyone with more literary knowledge tell me what the Jacobean link (if any) there could be ?
At one stage dd mixed up Conan Doyle with Shakespeare so I'm not sure what else could be mixed up.
Dd said this what her teacher told her it is Jacobean but she won't see her until next week to get clarity. That's also when the essay is due in.

OP posts:
SnappyOchre · 02/01/2026 13:35

The short stories, including the one with Irene Adler, are all available for free online. Can she not just read or listen to one? It will take 30 minutes maximum.

cariadlet · 02/01/2026 13:35

Irene Adler is a very interesting character - one of the few who outwits Sherlock Holmes.
What's the essay about?
Has your daughter read the story? If she doesn't enjoy reading Sherlock Holmes stories, she might find an audiobook more accessible.
Does she understand what Jacobean means?

JoyintheMorning · 02/01/2026 13:33

Is she referenced in a later story? A reminiscing conversation with Watson?

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 02/01/2026 13:30

Irene Adler is an interesting character because she outwitted Holmes. She is one of the few protagonists that he clearly respected.

Milkbloo · 02/01/2026 13:28

Not Jacobean, no. Definitely not.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 02/01/2026 13:28

It’s contemporary with all the other Sherlock Holmes stories so definitely not Jacobean. It was published in 1891 so late Victorian.

Needmorelego · 02/01/2026 13:27

Personally I would just Google the character name.
The books are Victorian and set when written but I only really know the modern contemporary set interpretations (I tried reading one of the books but found it very slow) so I can't really help much.
Is the essay meant to be one that she has to find out about the character or have they actually read the book at school?
If they've been reading it at school then surely your daughter should know what she's meant to be writing about.
If she doesn't really understand what she's meant to be writing about then she should talk to her teacher.
I made the error of just "winging it" with many English essays when I was at school rather than just telling my teacher I was completely confused. The result of that was a failed A-level.

LetThemFume · 02/01/2026 13:26

Bluntly, has she not read ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’?

NYE26 · 02/01/2026 13:20

It's definitely a Victorian setting. Irene adler is a character in a scandal in bohemia which is one of the short stories in the adventures of sherlock holmes. Has she read it?

SamphiretheTervosaur · 02/01/2026 13:20

Is she sure about Jacobean?

Could the word have been Bohemian?

Because that would definitely fit the Adler character