Louis La Rothière

Louis La Rothière is a spy working against the British government mentioned in two of Sherlock Holmes' canon cases of international significance. Holmes distinguishes him as one of the three most effective foreign agents in London. Though it is not specified in canon, he name indicates he is presumably French.
==Canon appearances==
La Rothière is first mentioned in "The Adventure of the Second Stain" when an important letter goes missing from the home of European Secretary Trelawney Hope. Sherlock Holmes named La Rothière as one of the three most likely recipients of the letter, along with Hugo Oberstein and Eduardo Lucas. However, Watson's announcement Lucas' murder shifts Holmes' attention away from him.
La Rothière is mentioned again in "The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans", when top secret military plans are stolen from Woolwich Arsenal. The culprit is apparently a young clerk named Cadogan West who is later found dead on the railway tracks. Holmes again considers La Rothière as one of the top suspects for organizing the theft, along Oberstein and newcomer Adolph Meyer. However, Holmes' suspicion soon turns to Oberstein, the actual culprit.
==Appearances in adaptations==
==="Notes Upon the Diadem Club Affair"===
La Rothière appears in person in this short story by Lyndsay Faye, included in her collection The Whole Art of Detection: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes. In it, Holmes prevents La Rothière, who is disguised as an English polymath, from assassinating a British diplomat at a dinner party. However, despite being the main antagonist of the story, La Rothière plays a very small role; he has no lines, and Holmes and Watson's climactic confrontation with him is glossed over. At the end of the adventure he is arrested by Scotland Yard.
==Trivia==
*La Rothière is a commune in the north of France. During the Napoleonic Wars, it was the site of a notable loss for Napoleon in 1814.
de:Louis La Rothière
Category:Characters: His Last Bow
Category:Characters: The Return of Sherlock Holmes
Category:French characters
Category:Spies
Category:Villains