Lady Eudoria Vernet Holmes is a central character in The Enola Holmes Mysteries series by Nancy Springer. She is the mother of Mycroft, Sherlock, and Enola Holmes. After the death of her husband, she raised her daughter Enola herself. Eudoria's disappearance forms the central mystery of the first novel in the series, The Case of the Missing Marquess (2006), as Enola realizes her mother may have been planning something larger.
She is portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter in the 2020 film adaptation of the novel.
Enola Holmes (Netflix film)[]
Eudoria insisted on naming her daughter Enola. She was supportive, and both of them have a close relationship, as Enola barely knew her father or brothers. However, her mother had secrets she kept from Enola, mentioning privacy was the highest virtue. Enola found her mother was part of a group called the Holy Trinity which was a group of women fighting for equal rights in extreme ways. Her mother left clues that only Enola and Sherlock know how to find her. It was stated by Enola that Mycroft didn't like his mother much and he was abusive towards her.
Once the vote had passed, Eudoria visited Enola and apologised, saying she wanted to tell Enola where she was going, but it would not be safe. She said she left because of Enola for the world in its current state be in her future. She congratulated Enola on what she did for the reform bill and the woman she had become. The two hugged, and Eudoria told her if she ever needed her, she would always be looking at the newspapers.
Enola Holmes 2 (Netflix film)[]
Eudoria makes a brief appearance in the film. In the beginning, she is seen causing havoc by dropping a bomb in a mailbox and calmly walking away. When Enola was framed for murder on a case being investigated, Sherlock called Edith for her aid to save Enola. Edith in turn teamed up with Eudoria to bust Enola from prison.
While escaping from prison, Enola shares some information with her mother. Eudoria found out from the Holy Trinity members of what powerful people were doing to the female population. She assures her daughter that the people wanted to silence both her and Sherlock because they came too close to the truth. She uses a smoke bomb to stall the corrupt pursuers and later gives Enola another smoke bomb to disable the same pursurers. Eudoria and Edith were shocked to find out Grail was also corrupt from their information gathering was pursuing them.
Grail was able to disable the carriage carrying the group. Just as he is about to arrest Edith, Eudoria, and Enola, they used their learned martial arts fighting skills together to fight off the corrupt officers and Grail. Eudoria grabbed clothes for Enola and pulled a string that revealed their carriage was rigged as a safety precaution to take out enemies. Eudoria told Enola that "the answer was closer to her than she thought." This made Enola realize the enemy was closer and Sarah Chapman was "Cilecy" in disguise with William Lyon to bring down the dangerous working conditions on the case Enola was investigating. Eudoria told Enola to work together with allies she deemed trustful to succeed. Eudoria also lamented at the fact that though she raised her three children well, they all ended up either stiff or too lonely.
Eudoria makes her last appearance with Edith after finding out that Sarah Chapman and the rest of the females including Enola went on a strike and stood up for themselves for the dangerous working conditions that they were exposed to. Eudoria complimented on the fact that they were loud enough, and Enola was starting to grow up to be a force to be reckoned with.
Eudoria in The Enola Holmes Mysteries[]
It was later revealed in the sixth book why Eudoria abandoned Enola. Eudoria has taught Enola everything she knew but she chooses to no longer be restrained by society dictates of women. After abandoning Enola, Eudoria found her days were numbered due to sickness. It was later revealed that she was hiding with the Gypsies after learning her days were numbered and that women were finally having equal rights as men.
She wanted the letter to be revealed to her family that her greatest pride and gift was Enola who fought for her own independence which she was very proud of. Though she owed Sherlock and Mycroft nothing, she was happy for their accomplishments. She chooses to be buried in the Gypsies culture of burial and does not disclose her date of death as she doesn't want her family mourning for her. The letter saddens Enola but makes her happy that Eudoria still thought of her. Her brothers finally see Enola as an equal instead.
Canon references[]
- The name "Vernet" is taken from "The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter", where Holmes tells Watson that his grandmother "was the sister of Vernet, the French artist". The Vernets were a historical family that produced several noted painters.