Character Sources
Adler's career as a theatrical performer who becomes the lover of a powerful aristocrat had several precedents. The most obvious source is Lola Montez, a dancer who became the lover of Ludwig I of Bavaria and influenced national politics. Montez is identified as a model for Adler by several writers.
Closer to home is the singer Lillie Langtry, the lover of Edward, the Prince of Wales. As Julian Wolff points out, it was well known that Langtry was born in Jersey (she was called the "Jersey Lily") and Adler is born in New Jersey. Langtry had later had several other aristocratic lovers and her relationships had been speculated upon in the public press in the years before Doyle's story was published.
Along with the singer Ludmilla Hubel, alleged lover of Archduke John Salvator of Austria, these were suggested as Doyle's inspiration for Adler in his lifetime.
Read more about this topic: Irene Adler
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