The Abominable Bride largely takes part in Sherlock's 'mind palace'. The mind palace is loci method of using a location to think things through. Sherlock first used the method in the episode The Hounds of Baskerville and then went on to use it in all three episodes of Series Three.
The episode follows directly on after His Last Vow, the last episode of series three. In that we saw Sherlock shoot Charles August Magnussen. Thanks to Mycroft's influence, Sherlock was to be sent on a dangerous mission in Eastern Europe rather than face trial. However, Moriarty appeared on TV screens across the country saying "Miss Me?" and Sherlock was immediately recalled. Sherlock then uses drugs to consider a 100-year-old case to help explain Moriarty's apparent return.
The episode is inspired by a quote from the Conan Doyle story The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual: "Ricoletti of the club foot and his abominable wife."
Sherlock Holmes' drug use is something straight from the Conan Doyle stories. The character regularly used cocaine and sometimes morphine. However, in the stories this was usually when the detective had no stimulating cases rather than as tool to solve them. In Sherlock the drug use has been substituted for smoking up until this episode.
Dr. Watson's stories are regularly mentioned throughout the episode. The Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes stories were usually published in The Strand magazine, as they were here. Several characters complain about how they are portrayed in the stories- Holmes often did in the books. Mrs. Hudson says she is nothing but a plot device, which is pretty much the case in the stories. One Conan Doyle story, The Blue Carbuncle, is mentioned. In Sherlock the modern version of Watson's stories are his blog.
The 19th Century version of Molly is forced to disguise herself as a man in order to be a Doctor. She is one of the few characters that didn't appear in the original books and has a position in the modern series that simply wouldn't have been possible for a woman back in Conan Doyle's day.
Watson's wife Mary plays a small part in the story. Mary is mentioned little after her first appearance in the Conan Doyle stories. Here she is a supporter of the suffragette movement and is employed by Mycroft Holmes to secretly help with the investigation.
Mycroft Holmes is found in the Diogenes Club here, the same as in the Conan Doyle stories. In the stories the Diogenes Club was a gentlemen's club where Mycroft could usually be found and no talking was allowed in the Stranger's Room, hence the sign language section. A modern version of the Diogenes Club appeared in The Reichenbach Fall.
Eustace Carmichael receives five orange pips in the episode. This refers to a Conan Doyle story, The Five Orange Pips, where murder victims received orange pips in the mail before their death. Like the episode, the story is one of the few cases where Holmes' client end up being killed. The story also features the infamous KKK and similar costumes are worn by the secret society in the episode.
Police detectives Gregson and Jones are both referenced in the episode. Gregson appeared in five of Conan Doyle's stories and was regarded as "the Smartest of Scotland Yarders" by Holmes, all though that still meant he had a limited opinion of him. Gregson was dislike considerably by Lestrade.
Two detectives called Jones appeared in the Conan Doyle stories; Athelney Jones in the novel The Sign of Four and Peter Jones in The Adventure of the Red-Headed League.
The scene at the waterfall refers to the story The Final Problem where Holmes and Moriarty both plunge to their deaths at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland. This was supposed to be the final demise of the detective but Conan Doyle ended up having him survive due to his popularity. Sherlock's version of this was the events on the roof of St. Bartholomew's Hospital.
At the end of the episode Sherlock realises that Moriarty cannot possible still be alive but says he knows what he will do next. This will no doubt be revealed in Series 4. It's unclear at this point whether this was all a long-running plan for Moriarty or whether it is a plan by some organisation as in the Bride case.
This is only a brief dip into a very detailed episode so I have certainly missed out other references. Hopefully though this goes some way in giving a greater insight into the episode!
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