The location I received was St. John’s Wood Road located just west of Regent’s Park. According to the Charles Booth Online Archive, St. John’s Wood Road was an area inhabited by the rich. The road is lined with some red, but mostly yellow rectangles, signifying that the Upper middle and Upper class resided there. Upon searching the proceedings of Old Bailey, I found that crime was at a very minimum: only two crimes appeared in the search, both of which were theft. The Victorian map leaves much to the imagination as to what buildings existed here, but the two buildings that are labeled are homes for children: Hospital and Home for Incurable Children, and Home for Female Orphans. However, after researching further I found that St. John’s Wood was home to many artists that formed the St. John’s Wood Clique, as well as the St. John’s Wood Arts Club in 1895. The St. John’s Wood Clique was an “informal gathering of artists with a shared aesthetic outlook” (The Saint John’s Wood Art Club). In contrast, St. John’s Wood Arts Club was a formal meet-up of artists living around the St. John’s Wood area.
In addition to art clubs, there was also an art school, “St John’s Wood Art School,” founded in 1878. The school was meant for those who wanted to gain skills in “life drawing and painting; head and costume; drawing and painting from still life, antique, drapery, etc.; Anatomy; Observation and memory class; Composition class; Lettering, drawing for reproduction, poster painting, design, perspective and architectural drawing; and Mural decoration” (Scrapbook). The attendance of St. John’s Wood Art School was a prerequisite in order to attend the Royal Academy schools. Both female and male students were accepted (St. John’s Wood School of Art).
Female students at the St. John’s Wood Art School
Relating Information to the Text
After learning about St. John’s Wood Art School, I made the connection between the classes offered at the school and Ilene Adler’s artistic talents: acting and disguise. On page 14, Ilene Adler writes in her note, “But, you know, I have been trained as an actress myself. Male costume is nothing new to me.” When Holmes is walking home, Ilene follows him in the disguise of a man in order to make sure that the man disguised as an old clergyman is actually Holmes. When she is made certain of this, she leaves her home in St. John’s Wood and flees into Europe with her new husband. Because women were allowed to attend the art school, and because Ilene has studied acting and disguise, it would be reasonable to suppose that Ilene attended St. John’s Wood Art School. Her location in St. John’s Wood would tell the Victorian reader that Ilene was wealthy and artistically trained—making her capabilities to disguise herself plausible.
I also found it interesting that in the story, the area which she lives is fictional Serpentine Avenue. Perhaps this name is given because Ilene is much like a snake: she has potential to be dangerous and she can sneak around without being noticed. Her danger comes from her ability to outwit men who are considered to be smarter than women; she outwits both Sherlock and the King of Bohemia. She also is still in possession of the photo, which she can use to “strike” at the king if he ever tries to cause her harm. Second, she’s sneaky because, as mentioned previously, she is a master of disguise and can move around London without being noticed as herself.
Works Cited
“Scrapbook of St. John’s Wood Art Schools.” Yale Center for British Art. The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Ar, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
“The St John’s Wood Arts Club, 1895.” National Portrait Gallery. National Portrait Gallery, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
“St. John’s Wood School of Art.” Artist Biographies. Artist Biographies Ltd., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2015.
Shianne, I really like your comparing of Irene Adler to a snake and tying that in with her address on Serpentine Ave. I absolutely thought that Conan Doyle did that on purpose and it’s nice to see I’m not alone! I love how in depth you went into her character, even going so far as to research her possible schooling background. Your comments do make me feel that’s probable she attended St. John’s.
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