Not so Humble Beginnings
Irene Adler was born to a well off family in New Jersey in 1858. Her father was a timid investment banker and her mother, a fiery lawyer who specialized in defending women who had murdered their husbands and lovers. Irene was an only child who was doted on. She had piercing gray eyes, fair skin and long darkhair, and even as a young child she was described as having the face of the most beautiful of expenses were ever spared to give her the finest clothing and the best teachers. As a young child she excelled in her studies and fell in love with the opera. Her mother would often take her to New York to see operettas and it was on one of these trips to New York City that her singing talents were recognized by a major opera company. It was around this time that Irene and her mother decided to move to New York City not only so that Irene could pursue her singing career, but also because her mother realized that her clientele of dangerous, scandalous women would be larger. They left her father and it has been said that he never saw either Irene nor her mother again. New York City stole Irene's heart and it is here where her story really begins.
Irene Explores Gender Roles
While in New York, Irene continued to excel at the most prominent all girls school in the city. She also continued on with her opera performances and even in her early teens found her deep voice that lead to her being named the best contralto of the year in 1872, at the young age of fourteen. During the same year, her mother had taken up with two different men at the same time and it was from this exposure to her mother's self-proclaimed harlot lifestyle that Irene explains her acceptance of a promiscuous culture. Irene was never one to accept essentialist views of femininity. This can bee seen in the many times she dressed as a male, posing as her forgotten father at many school events. Even as a young woman, playing with gender roles was seen as one of her favorite pastimes. She would often get the lead male role using her haunting contralto voice in the operettas, leaving the audiences in tear. She enjoyed the male lead roles to the female lead roles because, she said, it gave her more freedom. On her eighteenth birthday, Irene's mother ran off to Europe with one of her new boyfriends, leaving Irene her life's savings. Irene took the surprise in stride and decided to travel, going anywhere she'd never gone before.
Law Degrees and Opera Titles
Irene's first trip overseas was to France. As a young woman, she was immediately taken by the beauties of Paris with it's seductive street cafes and live music. However, after a failed love affair with a married man, Irene decided to leave the country. Within her first two months in Milan, Italy, she attended auditions at the world renowned opera house La Scala, and she was given a leading part in the opera Maria Tudor which opened in 1879. Despite her love of male dress, she embraced her character, becoming an overnight success. When the opera ended for the season, Irene began taking classes in a nearby city at the University of Turin to study law, presumably wanting to follow in her mother's footsteps. Within three years, the young, brilliant Irene had a law degree. However, growing bored with law, she again decided to travel. This time on the road she decided to explore Poland, settling in Warsaw. It was there that Irene again immersed herself in opera, quickly becoming the prima donna in the Imperial Opera of Warsaw. One night the King of Bohemia visited the opera, and it is said that he fell in love watching Irene sing. Within Irene and the King's first meeting, Irene decided that he would be the end to her days as a bachelorette.
Lost love and a Baby
Irene claimed that it was love at first sight when the King of Bohemia pushed his way into her dressing room after one of her shows in Warsaw. Not normally one for men who used their status to leverage situations, Irene admittedly found his large build and his overly flashy clothing to be charming. He had a deep harsh voice and a strongly marked German accent, and when Irene at first told him she was busy later, the King's persistence quickly won her over. From their first date, the King and Irene were inseparable. The king spared no expenses on his beautiful woman whom he vowed to marry despite their difference in class. They traveled to Japan where they had their photographs taken by world famous Pho Tographero. It was that beautiful photograph that never left Irene's hands. In 1885, nearly two years after the two first met, Irene became pregnant. With tears of joy, she went to the king and told him of the good news. Much to her surprise, the king panicked and told her that he was unsure of their life together because of her lack of royal lineage. That night as the king slept, Irene packed her things. She left the following morning on the 5:15 train, vowing never again to see the King of Bohemia.
Jaded Love Letter and A Baby named Sherlock
When the king woke, Irene was gone. As jaded lovers often do, Irene left him a note on the bedside table. It read:
To the first and only man who will ever break my heart,
I hope one day that you find what you are looking for in a woman. It pains me to think that I could have been so foolish as to think that you actually were enough of a man to be worthy of my love, however, I can assure you that I will never again make such a foolish mistake as to listen to my heart. I will not tell you where I am going but you should know that I am taking both the photograph of you and I. If you ever come close to either myself or my soon to be child, I promise you that the photograph will be revealed to the world and your name forever slandered and soiled. You are a pathetic excuse for a man and will never be a worthy leader of a nation
Very truly yours, Irene Adler.
Upon seeing this, the king wept. Eight months later, Irene bore a male child. She named him after a famous London detective. It would be London where Irene would permanently reside, just Irene and the heir to the kingdom of Bohemia.