Collection
Series
Publication
New York : T. Doherty Associates Book, 1990.
Description
Winner of the American Mystery Award for Best Novel of Romantic Suspense, and the Romantic Times BookClub Award for Best Historical Mystery Miss Irene Adler, the beautiful American opera singer who once outwitted Sherlock Holmes, is here given an unexpected talent: she is a superb detective, as Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker can attest. Even Holmes himself must admit--albeit grudgingly--that she acquits herself competently. But in matters of the heart she encounters difficulty. The Crown Prince of Bohemia--tall, blonde, and handsome--proves to be a cad. Will dashing barrister Godfrey Norton be able to convince Irene that not all handsome men are cut from the same broadcloth?
Language
Original language
English
User reviews
LibraryThing member Bookmarque
This was very good and is continued in Good Morning Irene. I had to reread A Scandal in Bohemia to remember the Holmes’ version of the story. In this one, the King has led Irene to believe that he will make her queen, when his only intention is to make her a kept mistress. She runs away in secret
They are first brought together when she investigates the missing zone of diamonds, last seen in the possession of Godfrey’s disreputable and mad father. She finds obscure clues and at last finds the zone and because Godfrey has risen in her esteem, gives it to him. Because he is some kind of saint, he splits the take 3 ways between himself, Irene and Nell. Irene marries him because he is a stout believer and advocate of women’s independence. His mother had to leave his father when he was very young because he was a bully and a jerk to her. She writes several successful novels and the husband sues her for the proceeds and of course he wins. Godfrey thinks this is outrageous and has become a barrister partly to change the way women are viewed by the law.
Irene is the woman alright.
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as the King’s henchmen chase her down. While in Bohemia, Nell stays behind in the employ of Godfrey Norton the barrister whom Irene eventually marries. They are first brought together when she investigates the missing zone of diamonds, last seen in the possession of Godfrey’s disreputable and mad father. She finds obscure clues and at last finds the zone and because Godfrey has risen in her esteem, gives it to him. Because he is some kind of saint, he splits the take 3 ways between himself, Irene and Nell. Irene marries him because he is a stout believer and advocate of women’s independence. His mother had to leave his father when he was very young because he was a bully and a jerk to her. She writes several successful novels and the husband sues her for the proceeds and of course he wins. Godfrey thinks this is outrageous and has become a barrister partly to change the way women are viewed by the law.
Irene is the woman alright.
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LibraryThing member cmbohn
Let me start by admitting that I enjoy Sherlock Holmes, but I am not a Holmesian. I think the actual canon is pretty good, occasionally great, and that Doyle showed rather too plainly his growing dissatisfaction with the series. What Doyle DID do right was create an unforgettable character, an
I loved the IDEA for this book. Take The Woman, Irene Adler from "A Scandal in Bohemia," the one female Holmes seemed to consider a worthy adversary, and tell her story. The trouble is that the story the writer tells is just not up to the idea. Irene is unconventional, brave, intelligent, and resourceful. So why is she wasted in this romantic meandering that only occasionally involves any real mystery and treats Holmes as a bit player? The idea seemed to be to present Irene as a female counterpart to Holmes. To that end, she has a mysterious past, like his, that same ability to 'deduce' from the clues at hand, an urge to solve mysteries, and a stuffy, conventional sidekick. (I may be doing Watson a disservice here. Penelope Huxleigh is amazingly insipid and uninteresting. At least Watson had something of a life.)
I kept at it, waiting for the fatal meeting between the two, but wound up embroiled in Bohemia, where Irene is protecting her virtue by declining an offer to be the new king's mistress. Come on. Not buying it. So I gave up and never got to see what happened when Adler and Holmes finally met.
What really bugs me is that this series means that someone else can't use the same great idea - the story of Irene Adler - and turn it into something really WORTH reading. Don't bother.
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icon, one that writers today would KILL for. Holmes is a character that has survived numerous movie and TV shows, including a cartoon, and inspired literally hundreds of writers to try their hand at a new spin on the old stories. (One of my favorites from last year was Sherlock Holmes Through Time and Space for the amazing creativity it contained.)I loved the IDEA for this book. Take The Woman, Irene Adler from "A Scandal in Bohemia," the one female Holmes seemed to consider a worthy adversary, and tell her story. The trouble is that the story the writer tells is just not up to the idea. Irene is unconventional, brave, intelligent, and resourceful. So why is she wasted in this romantic meandering that only occasionally involves any real mystery and treats Holmes as a bit player? The idea seemed to be to present Irene as a female counterpart to Holmes. To that end, she has a mysterious past, like his, that same ability to 'deduce' from the clues at hand, an urge to solve mysteries, and a stuffy, conventional sidekick. (I may be doing Watson a disservice here. Penelope Huxleigh is amazingly insipid and uninteresting. At least Watson had something of a life.)
I kept at it, waiting for the fatal meeting between the two, but wound up embroiled in Bohemia, where Irene is protecting her virtue by declining an offer to be the new king's mistress. Come on. Not buying it. So I gave up and never got to see what happened when Adler and Holmes finally met.
What really bugs me is that this series means that someone else can't use the same great idea - the story of Irene Adler - and turn it into something really WORTH reading. Don't bother.
Show Less
LibraryThing member benjclark
I finished it. There were parts I liked. I did lose interest about half way and put it down for a week. Maybe the later books get better-- I'd be willing to try.
LibraryThing member Anntstobbs
Irene Adler was the one woman who ever duped Holmes. Douglas links Adler's adventures with information about her in Doyle's "A Scandal in Bohemia." This lively story establishes Adler's sleuthing skills as she solves cases that involve Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker, among others. The novel presents
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an original perspective of the one whom Holmes himself dubbed "the woman." She's a superior woman and this book is thoroughly enjoyable. Show Less
LibraryThing member Fledgist
This is an approach to the Sherlock Holmes story "A Scandal in Bohemia" from the side of Irene Adler. It is an amusing story and supplements the Holmesian canon well. It includes a devoted companion, a foul-mouthed parrot, and an additional mystery. All nicely told.
LibraryThing member aliceoddcabinet
Sorry, Miss Douglas. Maybe it was just my mood, and I definitely will give the second book a try, but this plot just meandered too all over the place for me. First its these jewels, then nope, its Oscar Wilde's cross and then the box of lead in the garden at the sanitarium. It just didn't hang
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together for me. But I will try the second. Maybe she got the hang of it. Show Less
LibraryThing member aliceoddcabinet
Sorry, Miss Douglas. Maybe it was just my mood, and I definitely will give the second book a try, but this plot just meandered too all over the place for me. First its these jewels, then nope, its Oscar Wilde's cross and then the box of lead in the garden at the sanitarium. It just didn't hang
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together for me. But I will try the second. Maybe she got the hang of it. Show Less
LibraryThing member antiquary
Retelling Holmes from Irene Adler's viewpoint is clever, but somehow these books do not seem as good as they should be. The first is closer to the real Holmes than the later ones, being largely a Scvadal in Bohemia from Irene's viewpoint or more exactly that of her Watson. .
LibraryThing member kewaynco
A back story to A Scandal in Bohemia. I loved this book. It was a well written period piece with great characters providing an alternate view of Irene Adler.