I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

“the artist had brought out the full effect of the lustrous black hair” [NOBL]  Frank Cho, BSI ("The Duke of Balmoral") is an artist known worldwide in the comic industry. From his early strips in college to his work with Marvel and D.C., he is an artist whose services are in high demand. Cho is also a Sherlockian, and has been one for quite some time. It's only recently though that his profession...

“Holmes gave me a brief review” [THOR]  You may recognize the name Steven Doyle, BSI ("The Western Morning News"). He's half of the Wessex Press team, and he was the publisher behind The Sherlock Holmes Review — that Sherlockian quarterly that ran for a decade. Steve joins us to talk about the impetus behind the publication and why Wessex Press is bringing it back to life. He also shares many deta...

“your wide experience of turf matters” [SILV]  The sport of kings horse racing is part of the Sherlock Holmes lore. It's also part of a tradition in Sherlockian events going back some 70 years. The BSI Press has issued a new book, Upon the Turf, that is a comprehensive look at horse racing in the Canon, Victorian England, and the Baker Street Irregulars, as well as associated topics such as gambli...

“pursuing some laborious researches” [3STU]  The name William S. Baring-Gould is one of a hallowed few in the pantheon of Sherlockian scholars. He is one of the handful of chronologists who has attempted to put the stories in a particular order, using a number of research techniques. He also wrote the first unofficial "biography" of Sherlock Holmes with his Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: A Life...

“a certain quiet primness of dress” [MUSG] "Doyle" from Beau Ties Ltd. For the last 26 years, Beau Ties Ltd. has been a Vermont-based U.S. manufacturer of bow ties. And sometimes we see glimpses of Sherlock Holmes coming through. Because we're bow tie fanciers and astute observers of things, we decided to chat with an executive from Beau Ties Ltd. to understand their thinking. So we sat down with...

“Light-houses, my boy! Beacons of the future!” [NAVA]  The Beacon Society needs your help. In particular, it needs you to spread the word to teachers, librarians, students and more. Established in 2003, the Beacon Society introduces young people to the Sherlock Holmes stories and recognizes people who are doing their part to do the same. Through grants, awards, essay contests and more, the group h...

“he returned refreshed to his monograph upon the Polyphonic Motets of Lassus” [BRUC]  Perhaps you recall Watson mentioning in the midst of "The Bruce-Partington Plans" that Sherlock Holmes took his mind off of things while waiting for crucial information by losing himself "in a monograph which he had undertaken upon the Polyphonic Motets of Lassus." Perhaps you've wondered who Lassus was. That wou...

“well acquainted with his daily routine” [RESI]  When we named our show I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, it was an acknowledgment that we can find Sherlock Holmes-inspired activity virtually any place we look. But our guests on this episode show us that they could see it being named I Hear of Sherlock Every Day. Levi Stahl and Stacey Shintani are the authors of The Daily Sherlock Holmes: A Year of Q...

“at this conference” [MAZA]  We took the show on the road! Burt and Scott ventured to Bloomington, Indiana for the Baker Street Irregulars' conference "Building an Archive" at the Lilly Library at Indiana University. It was an event filled with conversations and exhibitions that delighted all, collectors or not. The event was the celebration of the BSI Archive officially opening at the Lilly. It f...

“Your conversation is most entertaining” [SPEC]  Usually things run like clockwork around these parts. But with both Burt and Scott on the road for work, and trying to coordinate daytime, evening, and even weekend schedules with various guests, sometimes it doesn't work out. So, we're returning to our roots and just having a chat with each other. It's a wide-ranging conversation that takes us from...

“this peculiar incident” [SIGN]  He was almost single-handedly responsible for the revival of interest of Sherlock Holmes in the 1970s with The Seven Percent Solution. Now, 45 years after his first novel about Sherlock Holmes, Nicholas Meyer, BSI ("A Fine Morocco Case") returns with The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols. The case takes us to January of 1905, when Holmes and Watson are summoned b...

“being out of the ordinary” [LADY]  Since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle first began the tradition in 1927, Sherlockians worldwide have debated which are the "best" Sherlock Holmes stories. There have been polls, surveys and lists. Articles, books, and debates. The core list is usually consistent, with a few variables along the way. Ashley Polasek—a familiar name to listeners of I Hear of Sherlock Everywh...

“it would be a great pleasure” [SIGN]  Acclaimed biographer Christopher Sandford joins us to discuss his book The Man Who Would Be Sherlock: The Real-Life Adventures of Arthur Conan Doyle. But this isn't a biography. As Sandford explained, there was a perpetual itch that Conan Doyle had to scratch, and his writing wasn't enough to satisfy it. How did his lifelong crusade pan out? Why did he embrac...

“furnished lodgings close to a library” [3STU]  When you have a world-class collection, it makes sense for a world-class institution to house it. And not just any such institution (as there are many), but one that can meet the needs of the depositor. In this case, we're talking about the BSI Archives and the Lilly Library—two venerable institutions. From November 8-10, 2019, the BSI is hosting at...

“he was not the man that they had known” [CREE]  Christopher Sequeira is a familiar name among those who enjoy speculative fiction. That's the intersection of horror, fantasy, science fiction, and super hero. And that's where his connection with Sherlock Holmes resides as well. Where did Chris first get inspired in this direction? In the latest book he has edited, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Was No...

“Male costume is nothing new to me” [SCAN]  It isn't every day you run into someone who crashed an invitation-only event 45 years ago. When you add to the mix that the event was all-male and the interloper was a female—well, now we have the beginning of a good story. For years it remained a mystery, which is just fine with Rosemary Herbert, our guest for this episode and the very same person who p...

“What do you want with the coffin?” [LADY]  As a rule, Sherlockians and Holmesians are a welcoming bunch. But occasionally you'll see arguments spring up about why a certain book, film, television show, play, or other related project is rubbish. Well, that's completely subjective, isn't it? The guiding light of the Sherlockian movement since its earliest days is rooted in having fun. And who is on...

“all the enthusiasm of a man fresh from the fogs of Baker Street.” [COPP]  There are a handful of names in the pantheon of Sherlockians that are legendary: Morley. Bell. Smith. Starrett. Baring-Gould. And Shaw. For as much as John Bennett Shaw influenced modern-day Sherlockians, we haven't spent much time discussing him or his impact. Fortunately, Jim Hawkins does just that. And he does it in a mo...

“these characters convey a message” [DANC]  It isn't every day that one has an opportunity to chat with someone who owns an intimate piece of clothing that belonged to "a certain gracious lady." Barbara Rusch, BSI ("The Mazarin Stone") is a collector of Victoriana and ephemera, and more importantly is the author of the play "The Crossing: or Three Authors in Search of a Character." In a barren ant...

“His name is Vincent” [REDH]  We last spoke with Ray Betzner, BSI ("The Agony Column") five years ago (on Episode 61), where he was joined by Susan Rice, BSI ("Beeswing"). Ray had just launched his blog, Studies in Starrett, which takes a look at the works, connections, and life of Vincent Starrett, BSI ("A Study in Scarlet"). Now that the site has reached its five-year mark, we interviewed Ray ab...

“the name is familiar to me” [SPEC]  The parodies of Sherlock Holmes began almost as soon as the short stories began appearing in The Strand Magazine. And parody plots required parody names. Bill Mason, BSI ("White Mason") began keeping a log of the silly iterations and manifestations of Sherlock Holmes's name over the years and has turned it into a book, A Holmes By Any Other Name. But more than...

“He has an extraordinary faculty for figures” [GREE]  Chris Schweizer is a Sherlockian of multi-media origins. So it stands to reason that his depictions of the characters take on a multitude of aspects. In our conversation with this Sherlockian and Eisner-nominated cartoonist, we discover that he'd like to illustrate as many characters in the Sherlock Holmes stories as possible. And his work show...

“a Norwegian named Sigerson” [EMPT]  Every three years, the Norwegian Explorers of Minnesota host a conference. It's been their practice since 1995, and they've had some well-attended and well-regarded programs in that time. Julie McKuras, BSI ("The Duchess of Devonshire") and Gary Thaden are co-chairs of the latest conference, Dark Places, Wicked Companions, and Strange Experiences, which will be...

“give me a true account of all that happened” [ABBE]  We're fairly comfortable in taking Dr. Watson at his word. That is, we trust that what Watson tells us is the true eyewitness account of his time with Sherlock Holmes. But what if that wasn't the case? What if Watson's writings were actually a set of highly polished tales that masked the true drama behind the scenes at 221B Baker Street? That's...

“clad in a rude sailor dress with a pea-jacket,” [SIGN]  The town of Chester, Illinois contains a few interesting items. One is the Chester Baskerville Society. Another is the Popeye and Friends Character Trail. And the common bond between both of them is Mike McClure, BSI ("Stimson & Co."), a member of the Baker Street Irregulars. Mike tells us about his involvement with Sherlock Holmes, about th...