Post by Captain Dusk Rose on Mar 18, 2010 23:39:09 GMT -5
She was reportedly born in New Jersey in 1858. She followed a career in opera as a contralto, performing in La Scala, Milan, Italy, and a term as prima donna in the Imperial Opera of Warsaw, Poland, indicating that she was an extraordinary singer. Adler retired in her late twenties and moved to London.
On March 20, 1888 Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein and hereditary King of Bohemia, makes an incognito visit to Holmes in London. The King asks the famous detective to secure a photograph from Adler.
The monarch reigned from Prague but, in 1883, he reportedly paid "a lengthy visit to Warsaw" where he "made the acquaintance of the well-known adventuress, Irene Adler." The two became lovers; afterward, Adler had kept a photograph of the two of them. The 30-year-old King explains to Holmes that he intended to marry Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen (an unseen character), second daughter of the King of Scandinavia; a marriage that would be threatened if his relationship with Adler came to light.
Using his considerable skill for disguise, Holmes traces Adler's movements and learns much of her private life. He then sets up a fake incident to cause a diversion that would let him discover where the picture was hidden. When he returns to take it, he finds Adler gone, along with her new husband and the photo, which has been replaced with a letter to Holmes, explaining how she has outwitted him, but also that she is happy with her new husband and will not compromise her former lover, provided the King does not try anything against her in the future.
Adler's marriage however, did not last due to unknown circumstances, and she returned to England as "Irene Adler" once again. During her return she became entangled with the case of Lord Blackwood, which Holmes was investigating. At the close of the case she was taken into custody by Holmes for stealing the Maharajah's precious diamond, however; he allowed her to escape.
At a time when ladies were supposed to be ladies, Adler had "the face of the most beautiful of women, and the mind of the most resolute of men," according to the King. She outwitted Holmes, and he admired her for it.
On March 20, 1888 Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein and hereditary King of Bohemia, makes an incognito visit to Holmes in London. The King asks the famous detective to secure a photograph from Adler.
The monarch reigned from Prague but, in 1883, he reportedly paid "a lengthy visit to Warsaw" where he "made the acquaintance of the well-known adventuress, Irene Adler." The two became lovers; afterward, Adler had kept a photograph of the two of them. The 30-year-old King explains to Holmes that he intended to marry Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen (an unseen character), second daughter of the King of Scandinavia; a marriage that would be threatened if his relationship with Adler came to light.
Using his considerable skill for disguise, Holmes traces Adler's movements and learns much of her private life. He then sets up a fake incident to cause a diversion that would let him discover where the picture was hidden. When he returns to take it, he finds Adler gone, along with her new husband and the photo, which has been replaced with a letter to Holmes, explaining how she has outwitted him, but also that she is happy with her new husband and will not compromise her former lover, provided the King does not try anything against her in the future.
Adler's marriage however, did not last due to unknown circumstances, and she returned to England as "Irene Adler" once again. During her return she became entangled with the case of Lord Blackwood, which Holmes was investigating. At the close of the case she was taken into custody by Holmes for stealing the Maharajah's precious diamond, however; he allowed her to escape.
At a time when ladies were supposed to be ladies, Adler had "the face of the most beautiful of women, and the mind of the most resolute of men," according to the King. She outwitted Holmes, and he admired her for it.
