However Improbable

Welcome back to our discussion episodes! From The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" is one of the nastiest tales in the canon - complete with a skin-crawling villain named Jephro Rucastle. It also stars one of our favorite women - the intrepid Violet Hunter. Sarah and Marisa check in with Holmes and Watson after our break from the stories, the creepy ho...

"The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" by Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Sarah Kolb. “Crime is common. Logic is rare." "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" is narrated by Sarah Kolb. Sarah is Colorado-based writer, podcaster, and arts marketer, with a passion for unconventional storytelling, detective stories, and rude women. You probably know her as the co-host of Howeve...

Marisa and Sarah weren't the only ones who were busy in the last year away from the show. So was Holmes - busy drinking that respect women juice. Legally. In January of this year, the US copyright on The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes expired. This means that, for the first time, all the Holmes stories are no longer protected by copyright. What does this mean for Holmes? What do we hope comes out...

Our dear listeners, we owe you a thousand apologies!

The Hound of the Baskervilles is the closest that Arthur Conan Doyle comes to writing a real supernatural horror story (in his Holmes tales anyway) and one adaptation stands above the rest by truly committing to that idea. Happy Halloween and welcome to our case file on Hammer Film’s Hound of the Baskervilles! Released in 1959 by Hammer Film Ltd., this horror-ified take on Doyle's classic story wa...

A family curse. A desolate moor. An unexplained death. A monstrous dog. Arguably one of the most famous short stories of all time, The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of four novellas about the great detective, and the first story Doyle wrote after Holmes’s (spoilers!) apparent demise in “The Final Problem.” It all comes together into a spine-tingling mystery that Watson's writing turns int...

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Jenna Hanchey. Chapter 13: Fixing the Nets Chapter 14: The Hound of the Baskervilles Chapter 15: A Retrospection “ And now I come rapidly to the conclusion of this singular narrative, in which I have tried to make the reader share those dark fears and vague surmises which clouded our lives so long and ended in so tragic a manner." Th...

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Jenna Hanchey. Chapter 10: Extract from the Diary of Dr. Watson Chapter 11: The Man on the Tor Chapter 12: Death on the Moor “That cold, incisive, ironical voice could belong to but one man in all the world." The Hound of the Baskervilles is narrated by Jenna Hanchey. Jenna is a critical/cultural communication professor by day, and a...

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Jenna Hanchey. Chapter 7: The Stapletons of Merripit House Chapter 8: First Report of Dr. Watson Chapter 9: The Light upon the Moor [Second Report of Dr. Watson] “But the moor with its mysteries and its strange inhabitants remains as inscrutable as ever. Perhaps in my next I may be able to throw some light upon this also.” The Hound...

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Jenna Hanchey. Chapter 4: Sir Henry Baskerville Chapter 5: Three Broken Threads Chapter 6: Baskerville Hall “It’s an ugly business, Watson, an ugly dangerous business, and the more I see of it the less I like it. Yes, my dear fellow, you may laugh, but I give you my word that I shall be very glad to have you back safe and sound in Ba...

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Jenna Hanchey. Chapter 1: Mr. Sherlock Holmes Chapter 2: The Curse of the Baskervilles Chapter 3: The Problem “Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!” The Hound of the Baskervilles is narrated by Jenna Hanchey. Jenna is a critical/cultural communication professor by day, and a speculative fiction author and audiobo...

In the second of 2 discussions on the novella The Sign of Four, we dive into the story's messy and rather sad interpersonal drama by shining a light on the most understated of narrators - Dr. Watson himself, and the tension that is dividing his heart. Join us for a 221B vibe check (spoilers: bad vibes) as we take a look at the state of Holmes and Watson's friendship, and why Watson makes a choice...

A young woman named Mary Morstan comes to Baker Street with a most unusual problem… kicking off a tale of treasure, murder and romance. The Sign of Four blends decadence, imperialism, dark family secrets and literal buried treasure with an almost genre-bending romantic air and some interpersonal drama.  This is part 1 of 2 on our episodes covering Doyle's second novella. Today, we're building...

The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Paula Brett Chapter 10 - The End of the Islander Chapter 11 - The Great Agra Treasure Chapter 12 - The Strange Story of Jonathan Small “For me,” said Sherlock Holmes, “there still remains the cocaine-bottle.” And he stretched his long white hand up for it. The Sign of Four is narrated by Paula Brett. Paula is a queer, autistic theatremaker from L...

The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Paula Brett Chapter 7 - The Episode of the Barrel Chapter 8 - The Baker Street Irregulars Chapter 9 - A Break in the Chain “It is a romance!” cried Mrs. Forrester. “An injured lady, half a million in treasure, a black cannibal, and a wooden-legged ruffian. They take the place of the conventional dragon or wicked earl.” “And two knight-errants to...

The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Paula Brett Chapter 4 - The Story of the Bald-Headed Man Chapter 5 - The Tragedy of Pondicherry Lodge Chapter 6 - Sherlock Holmes Gives a Demonstration In the light of the lantern I read, with a thrill of horror, “The sign of the four.” “In God’s name, what does it all mean?” I asked. “It means murder,” said he, stooping over the dead man. The Si...

The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Paula Brett Chapter I - The Science of Deduction Chapter 2 - The Statement of the Case Chapter 3 - In Quest of a Solution “My mind,” he said, “rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere.”  The Sign of Four is narrated by Paula...

Some podcasters might be deterred to cover one of the most popular medical dramas of all time - that also kind of counts as a Holmes adaptations - considering we haven’t either really watched any of it. Not us though.  Today’s case file covers House M.D., and we’ve invited Twitter’s greatest House fan, Sara Ghaleb, to give us a hand. Sara recommended a few key episodes that she thinks summari...

Today, we’re thrilled to have pastiche writer, acclaimed novelist, and the internet’s coolest Sherlockian Lyndsay Faye on the podcast! Her newest collection of Holmes stories, Observations by Gaslight , is narrated by those who knew the great detective—including beloved characters like Irene Adler and Mrs. Hudson. We discussed this newest collection of work, how she embodies the voices of characte...

This mini case file takes a look at the man, the myth, the legend himself - Mycroft Holmes. Sherlock’s older brother is introduced in the story “The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter” - and we discovered we have so many thoughts about the way he’s been adapted onscreen that he deserves his own episode. Join us as we take a look at some of the famous actors who have depicted Mycroft, and dig into...

From The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, “The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter” is a tale of trepidatious translations, dire kidnappings, and Sherlock Holmes’s extended family. We discuss the true hero of this story (spoiler alert, he’s mentioned in it’s title), how Mycroft is really life goals, how Granada Holmes lets us down, and how all good dramas should end in a stabbing in today’s episode! Con...

“The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter” from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Yianni Papadimos. “The Diogenes Club is the queerest club in London, and Mycroft one of the queerest men.” Yianni Papadimos is a Greek-American actor and writer. His favorite credits include Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Barnstormers Theatre), Matt in Swimming Upstream (D...

One of the more sentimental stories in the canon, "The Adventure of the Yellow Face" is remarkable because Holmes’s deductive powers fail him - and Watson’s romantic sentimentality wins the day. It's also notable in how it specifically addresses race and prejudice in a way the Holmes stories usually avoid.  Does Doyle get some credit for being not quite as awful as some of his contemporaries?...

"The Adventure of the Yellow Face" from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Alex Gallegos. "If it should ever strike you that I am getting a little over-confident in my powers, or giving less pains to a case than it deserves, kindly whisper ‘Norbury’ in my ear, and I shall be infinitely obliged to you.” Born and raised in Colorado, Alex Gallegos moved to Iowa in 2...

The least well-known of Doyle’s four novella-length Holmes stories, join us for this weird and riveting tale of American unions, vanishing jewelry, and Professor Moriarty’s first appearance. The Valley of Fear kicks off a new year for us and for Holmes and Watson.  Published between 1914 and 1915, The Valley of Fear is loosely based on a true story. We discuss Moriarty as a master artist, ant...