Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

"a boarding house that was recommended" [VALL]   When traveling or settling into a city for a bit, Victorians had options. Hotels were commonplace, but could be expensive. So what's a reasonable alternative? A boarding house!  There were two stories in which mysterious boarders caught the attention of Sherlock Holmes, and his visits with their landladies proved fruitful for Watson's writing. What...

"Come into the billiard-room and have a quiet cigar." [GLOR]   Rack 'em up! Our monthly discussion of games and sports turns to billiards. While the game itself is mentioned once in a significant way, there are a number of times when a room dedicated to the activity pops up in the Sherlock Holmes stories. What is it about billiards that captured English attention during this time period? It's just...

"he sang your praises very loudly" [STOC]   As early as  A Study in Scarlet , we discover that Sherlock Holmes "was as sensitive to flattery on the score of his art as any girl could be of her beauty." Then once again toward the end of the Canon, in "The Red Circle," Watson reminds us that "Holmes was accessible upon the side of flattery." We previously covered some of the insults and invective th...

"a member of an aristocratic club" [BERY]    From golf clubs to gentlemen's clubs...  Ask any Sherlockian to name a club in the Canon and they'll invariably say the Diogenes Club (that's right after Tonga's club. You don't have to be a Penang lawyer to get that one.). And there were a number of fictional clubs as well.  But one club that gets just a passing mention is Watson's club. Which one was...

"It is always a joy to meet an American." [NOBL]  Americans have been avid fans of Sherlock Holmes since the earliest days. The novels were pirated and the short stories were syndicated to reach millions of American readers.  And Sherlock Holmes himself was a fan of Americans. There's a wide variety of Americans and American locales that popped up in the Canon quite frequently. And those are worth...

"'Fore God, Mr. Holmes, it's all right," [SHOS]     Sherlock Holmes and golf don't necessarily go together. That is clearly represented by the few times that the sport is mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes stories.   His creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, had a few connections to golf. Together, we explore these scant details and come up with enough for another episode of Trifles in our monthly look at ga...

"Light-houses, my boy! Beacons of the future!" [COPP]   We first hear of boarding-schools in "The Naval Treaty," in which Watson mentions his fellow alumnus Percy Phelps, who needs Sherlock Holmes's help. And of course, the Priory School (from the adventure of the same name) is private boarding school of some note. When did boarding-schools come to be? What changed in the legislation of England at...

"the calculation now was a simple one" [MUSG]   The questions in the Musgrave Ritual lead us to answers that are nearly as cryptic as the questions themselves. Among the questions was "Where was the shadow?" The answer, of course, is "Under the elm."   But how was Sherlock Holmes able to calculate the location of the object of the Musgrave Ritual, given the lack of an elm and the passing of over 2...

"an autograph letter of thanks from the French" [GOLD]     France and England have always had a close relationship, if contentious at times. Is it any small wonder that we find plenty of French influences in the Sherlock Holmes stories?   From quoting French philosophers to referencing French detectives and from earning French accolades and casually revealing French relatives, Sherlock Holmes was...

"He could carve a bit and gild and frame, and do odd jobs." [SIXN]     There were scores of jobs mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes stories, but we focus on some of the more trifling titles in this episode.   You've heard of doctors and lawyers and even consulting detectives as professions. But what about gamekeepers? Or yeggmen? Mendicants (amateur or otherwise), tide-waiters and an abbess await yo...

"I would not have missed it for a good deal" [BERY]     Eight episodes ago, we talked very specifically about a card game: whist. But we're aware that there's more to cards than whist, and there are additional references in the Sherlock Holmes Canon.   A brief review of a number of Sherlock Holmes stories will show "card playing" as well as one or two specifically named card games. Oh, and what ab...

"less poisonous than one might expect" [BRUC]     From the very first Sherlock Holmes story, we're introduced to poisons and their role in crime and detective fiction. From there, it's a hopscotch of poisonings and poisons in the Canon.   From alkaloids to airborne toxins, we come across a variety of substances that cause harm, both intentionally and accidentally. What are they? Tune in and you ma...

"old coins, apparently" [MUSG]     This is  National Coin Week , according to the American Numismatic Association. What better week to consider old money in the Sherlock Holmes stories?   The terminology and math can be confusing to us today. Quid? Sovereign? Shilling? How do these relate to each other and how much buying power did they have? Greg Ruby, BSI of  The Fourth Garrideb  put a bug in ou...

"distinctly Australian" [BOSC]     To readers of the Sherlock Holmes stories in the late Victorian era, Australia was an exotic and dangerous place. It was not all that far removed from the days of transportation, when some criminals and the destitute were put on ships bound for the land Down Under.   Australia makes a number of appearances in the Canon. What do these have in common and what infer...

"two on the lawn" [CROO]  Sherlock Holmes and tennis — they go together like...like... Well, we're here to tell you that while combining the great detective with a lawn sport is actually elementary.   There are a handful of passing references to this sport in the Canon, and pointing them out is merely a Trifle...    Have you left us a rating and review on  Apple Podcasts  yet? You don't need to ow...

"we can't have tomfoolery of this kind" [FIVE]     The beginning of April dependably brings April Fools' Day. And while there weren't outright hi-jinks in the Sherlock Holmes stories, there were a fair share of instances where individuals were fooled.   You might think that it's Watson who's fooled frequently, but there were a number of times when Sherlock Holmes himself had the wool pulled over h...

"It is Porlock's writing" [VALL]   The opening of  The Valley of Fear  introduced us to a mysterious individual: Porlock, who sent a cryptic note to Sherlock Holmes to warn him of doings afoot at Birlstone. Sherlock Holmes didn't look into Porlock's identity too closely, but we do have a number of clues and inferences that may lead us to an identification. Or that may at least narrow things down a...

"The dancing Irish deviltry" [VALL]   The Irish make scant appearances across the earlier Sherlock Holmes stories, but once we pass The Valley of Fear, it's as if Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's brogue has been released onto the pages. We explore some of those instances — including the subtle and passing ones early on — and just how Sherlock Holmes found himself inside of an Irish secret society in Ameri...

"the game was whist" [EMPT]   We continue our monthly investigation into Games and Sports in the Sherlock Holmes stories, and in this case, we turn our attention to a card game. Specifically, whist.   There aren't too many instances of card games in the Canon, but whist comes up a couple of times. How was it played? We discuss that, and something of a trifle with respect to the game of whist that...

"volumes of poetry" [ENGR]    When we think of poetry, it's a style of writing that transports us, particularly emotionally, to another plane of existence. Poetry is like the rose over which Sherlock Holmes had a moment of reverie in "The Naval Treaty": "But this rose is an extra. Its smell and its color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it." Holmes wasn't known for his poetic momen...

"There has been some villainy here" [COPP]   A look at some of the villains in the Sherlock Holmes stories, beginning with the first real heavy that we encounter. Sherlock Holmes said "When a doctor goes wrong, he is the first of criminals." And Dr. Grimesby Roylott did not disappoint: he killed a man and served hard time for it, had a temper, kept wild animals, associated with gypsies, and more....

"Have we any Italians on the staff?" [SIXN]  Italians seem to surround us in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Restaurants, music, artisans, and of course criminals.  But Sherlock Holmes himself had some familiarity with Italy, both before and after his experience at the Reichenbach Falls. How far does this association with Italy go? Well, it's just a Trifle...   Have you left us a rating and review on...

"a straight left against a slogging ruffian" [SOLI]  Sherlock Holmes, boxer? We don't often consider Sherlock Holmes for his boxing abilities, yet Watson very clearly noted his talent in that field in the very first story. But Holmes wasn't the only boxer in the Canon. We repeatedly see mentions of the sport made official by the Marquess of Queensbury, as both tangential mentions and more central...

"glancing at the governess" [WIST]    They pop up here and there around the Canon quite infrequently. However, you can be sure that when a governess is featured in a Sherlock Holmes story, she's part of the plot. What was this profession, and what did the ladies in these roles do? What was their station in life? We explore these questions, which shed light on why they might have found themselves i...

"Look at this advertisement" [STUD]    For well over 100 years, Sherlock Holmes has been seen in advertisements around the world. The fact is: Sherlock Holmes sells. He's good for brands.   There are a number of instances of brands that were mentioned within the Sherlock Holmes stories themselves. What are they? Well, we enumerate them, plus provide a few "what-ifs" ourselves in this episode of Tr...