Beth Samson
Continuing Education Coordinator
Continuing Education Coordinator
“I’m too busy to read books.” “I love reading, but I have so many things to do.” How many times have we heard these phrases? How many times have we said these phrases? Our lives have become so busy that we find it difficult to pencil in time to read an entire novel. Sad, but understandable. However, there is a middle ground: short stories. Bite-sized bits of literature to give us our reading fix while still leaving time to go… adult. One of my personal favorites is one that is, pleasantly enough, in the public domain: “A Scandal in Bohemia”, the first short story of Arthur Conan Doyle starring Sherlock Holmes.
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This story is part of the book, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a collection of Sherlock short stories and the third Sherlock work overall. It consists of three “chapters” and is about as long as the average fanfiction that genuinely has a plot. What attracts me most about this story (other than the mention of the former kingdom of Bohemia itself) is the fact that it is the sole work featuring the infamous Irene Adler. I absolutely adore her, and I praise Doyle for the creation of such a delightful character. I also appreciate the levels of wit and snark in the story, customary of Holmes, but wonderful to find in other characters as well.
To give a brief, spoiler-free summary, Watson visits Holmes after he has been married for some time. Holmes tells him about this mysterious letter (well, trying to be mysterious letter) that is requesting a meeting and his help. Apparently, the King of Bohemia had…well, indiscretions with Ms. Adler, a “well-known adventuress” about five years previously. She has proof of this relationship and the King is absolutely determined to get it. Enter Sherlock: the only man that the King believes able to retrieve the proof from the woman with “the face of the most beautiful of women, and the mind of the most resolute of men”.
This story will always hold a special place in my heart, not just because of how much I enjoy it, but also because it showed me the value of short stories. I highly recommend it, regardless of your schedule.
P.S. You can check it out at MLC or your public library, plus you can download it on BARD. Also, since it’s in the public domain, you can read it anywhere! For example, here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1661/1661-h/1661-h.htm#chap01
To give a brief, spoiler-free summary, Watson visits Holmes after he has been married for some time. Holmes tells him about this mysterious letter (well, trying to be mysterious letter) that is requesting a meeting and his help. Apparently, the King of Bohemia had…well, indiscretions with Ms. Adler, a “well-known adventuress” about five years previously. She has proof of this relationship and the King is absolutely determined to get it. Enter Sherlock: the only man that the King believes able to retrieve the proof from the woman with “the face of the most beautiful of women, and the mind of the most resolute of men”.
This story will always hold a special place in my heart, not just because of how much I enjoy it, but also because it showed me the value of short stories. I highly recommend it, regardless of your schedule.
P.S. You can check it out at MLC or your public library, plus you can download it on BARD. Also, since it’s in the public domain, you can read it anywhere! For example, here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1661/1661-h/1661-h.htm#chap01
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