# Irene Adler — The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes character guide

> Irene Adler in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Miss Irene Adler, Miss Adler, Miss Irene, née Adler, Irene

**First appearance:** 0000-a-scandal-in-bohemia

## Snapshot

A retired opera singer of dubious reputation who matches wits with Holmes and, uniquely, walks away with his respect rather than his victory.

## Who they are

Once a celebrated performer and now the quiet keeper of a compromising photograph, Irene Adler is the woman a king cannot forget and a detective cannot quite catch. She is warned against Holmes months in advance, and her cool intelligence turns his own methods back upon him without malice or melodrama. For Holmes she becomes 'the woman,' the one case where admiration replaces certainty, and her shadow hangs over every later adventure.

## Relationships

### [Sherlock Holmes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/sherlock_holmes)

_rivalry_

Adler outwits Holmes in a case, earning his lasting admiration and respect.

### [Sherlock Holmes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/sherlock_holmes)

_rivalry_

Adler outwits Holmes in a case, earning his lasting admiration and respect.

### [Sherlock Holmes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/sherlock_holmes)

_rivalry_

Adler outwits Holmes in a case, earning his lasting admiration and respect.

## In the story

### [A Scandal in Bohemia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/a-scandal-in-bohemia)

The brilliant adversary who anticipates Holmes's moves, secures the photograph, and escapes, leaving Holmes a letter and her portrait.

### [A Scandal in Bohemia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/i)

Described as 'the woman' who eclipses her entire sex in Holmes's eyes. The King reveals his past entanglement with her in Warsaw five years prior, which produced a compromising photograph he now desperately needs to recover.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/ii)

Returns to Briony Lodge, is caught in the staged street fight, shows concern for the 'injured' Holmes, and her instinctive reaction to the fire alarm reveals the photograph's hiding spot.

### [A Scandal in Bohemia: Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/chapters/iii)

Has eloped with Godfrey Norton. Her letter explains she saw through Holmes's disguise, orchestrated her own counter-surveillance, and promises the King safety. She signs as 'Irene Norton, née Adler.'

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters/irene_adler
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_adventures_of_sherlock_holmes/characters