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From the program to the 1989 production of Sherlock Holmes: The Musical in London:

Bella Moriarty

The official biography of Professor James Moriarty states that he was unmarried, but the rumours that he secretly wed a young Italian opera singer during his years as Professor of Mathematics at Huddersfield University persisted, and are now known to be true.

The marriage lasted only three or four years, but produced two daughters: Bella and Maria.

As Moriarty’s evil genius slowly moved him inexorably towards the world of crime, ultimately making him the controlling brain of the entire diabolical network of the London underworld, he decided to rid himself of all personal ties, and divorced his wife. He provided generously for her and the two daughters, whose upbringing was based in the Italian area of southern Switzerland...Moriarty never saw them again, but it is known that he and Bella corresponded, and that he and she maintained a close life-long affinity for one another.

Bella, the eldest of the two girls, inherited her father’s brilliant mind, and was educated at the best Swiss boarding schools, and later at Heidelberg University and the Sorbonne. An exceptional student, a superb linguist, and a talented artist, she also grew up to be a great beauty, and a dazzling future was understandably predicted for her. Then, when she was still in her mid-twenties, she was shattered by the news of her father’s death at his meeting with Sherlock Holmes at the Falls of Reichenbach. Her reaction to this dread event is the subject of Sherlock Holmes: The Musical.
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For Milliways, I plan to play Bella pre-Reichenbach during her days as a student at Heidelberg. A bold maths student who loves chess and intrigue, Bella chooses to ignore the moral implications of her father’s nonacademic work. She is certainly aware of it, and is grateful that his influence has gained her a place in an otherwise all-male institution. Rather than consider the ethics of such behavior, Bella subscribes to the Strand magazine, reading Dr. Watson’s stories out of fear that Sherlock Holmes might someday pose a threat to Prof. Moriarty.

Historically speaking, the matter of Bella's education is interesting. Although women were not generally accepted at Heidelberg until the start of the twentieth century, some--most famously Ida Henrietta Hyde and Sofia Kovalevskaya--studied there earlier, although Kovalevskaya did not actually gain her doctorate from the University. Hyde, however, received a doctorate and completed postdoctoral studies in physiology during the mid-to-late 1890s. Although admitted to the program, some professors still denied Hyde admittance to certain lectures and labs. Bella is aware of Kovalevskaya's work and legacy--interestingly enough, some of it seems to parallel work done by her father, but is rather lonely on campus, as Hyde has not yet transferred to Heidelberg (and is currently working for the US Fish Commission!) In his program notes, Bricusse is vague about Bella's course of study. Although the musical mentions her skill at drawing, this could be for either artistic or scientific purposes. I've decided to have her primarily studying mathematics, where she is specializing in analytical geometry, and is begrudgingly allowed to attend lectures by the department chair. Although the University gave in to her father's demands on mathematics, the administration remains steadfast in refusing her to attend astronomy lectures and labs, despite her great interest. (Just think of a woman alone at night with men in an Observatory. Gasp!) Thus, she can often be seen in Milliways sketching the End of the Universe and making observations with a cereal box telescope given to her by her friend Arnold (of Hey, Arnold! fame).


DISCLAIMER: Bella Moriarty is from Sherlock Holmes: The Musical, and is the property of Leslie Bricusse. She appears here solely for the purpose of role-playing in milliways_bar, from which no profit whatsoever is being made. Most of the other characters mentioned here, including (but not limited to) Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John H. Watson, and James Moriarty, stem from the imagination of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I am neither of these fine gentlemen, nor am I Liz Robertson (who played Bella in the show's first run, and whom I use for my icons). This is all just for fun...so don't sue me, please!!!

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