St. John’s Wood is an entire district in London composed of very affluent neighborhoods. In Sherlock’s “Scandal In Bohemia” Irene Adler, the only woman who is able to deceive Holme’s, lives in St. John’s Wood.

 

Using Victorian Google Maps I learned that St. John’s Wood is actually a very big area and it is characterized by many houses, proving to be a wealthy district.

According to Forbes magazine, St. John’s Wood (with the area post code NW8) is the fifth most expensive neighborhood in London based on the average home price in 2007.

In the “Scandal of Bohemia” Irene has a photograph that Holmes needs to get back for his client. Just as he was about to cleverly cheat her into showing him where she had it hidden, Irene outsmarts Holmes. She took the photograph with her and ran off to another country with her new husband. The fact that Irene lived in such a wealthy area is important to the plot because it suggests that independence and wealth contributes to her cleverness.

Using Old Bailey’s Locating London I was able to search for crimes committed in St. John’s Wood. I found one in particular that was very interesting of a married couple, William and Elizabeth Board who were found guilty of coining and given death penalties (“William & Elizabeth Board, Coining”). Counterfeit money was a popular crime in Victorian London with very serious punishments. The irony is that crimes like these occurred in wealthy neighborhoods where people did not need the money, but instead craved the “high” of committing the crime. In todays time a perfect example is celebrities caught stealing, they have the means to get what they desire  but it’s the adrenaline they’re after.

                    

Using “Charles Booth Online Archive” I was able to search for St. John’s Wood and with a color key determine the economic status of the neighborhood. For the most part, everything in St. John’s Wood is color red and yellow signifying middle class and the wealthy. An important theme in all of Holme’s stories is “class.” By knowing that class in London was of so much importance and the wealthier you were, the higher your social status was, we are able to infer that  Irene Adler who lived in St. John’s Wood was not also wealthy, but also of a high social class. After Holmes was outsmarted by Irene Adler, he began to change his perception of women and gradually accept that women could be “good thinkers” as well.

Works Cited

Donnelly, Sue, and Judith Etherton. “Booth Poverty Map & Modern Map (Charles Booth  OnlineArchive).” Booth Poverty Map & Modern Map (Charles Booth Online Archive). London School of Economics & Political Science, n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2015.

“Google Maps Engine: Map View.” Google Maps Engine: Map View. National Library of Scotland, n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2015.

Olson, Parmy. “In Pictures: London’s Most Expensive Postcodes.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 07 Nov. 2015.

“William & Elizabeth Board, Coining, Februrary 1805 (t18050220-79).” Old Bailey Proceedings Online. Web. 6 November 2015.