Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

"this extraordinary league " [REDH]   For fans of sportsball, the concept of fantasy leagues might seem like a modern invention. A late-20th century pastime of creating the ideal lineup of teammates for competition. But what if you could do that with literary characters?   The first week of the month means it's time to look back at a piece of old scholarship, and in this case we've chosen Henry D....

"Would you care to try it?" [SCAN] It's the sixth season of Trifles and we realized we hadn't covered a central yet sensitive topic related to Sherlock Holmes: cocaine.   Thanks to a helpful article from a listener, we decided to delve into the history of medicinal cocaine and Victorian England's attitude toward it. It's just a Trifle.   Full show notes :  https://ihose.co/trifles269 Thank you to...

"the source of these outrages is known " [VEIL]   The Masters Class series continues, and this time, we delve into the active mind of Nicholas Utechin, who presents a well-reasoned and well-researched explanation for what happened in one of the unpublished cases.   We find ourselves focusing on the opening paragraph of "The Veiled Lodger," which took place in 1896 but was published in early 1927....

"dropping from branch to branch " [CREE]    The London in which Sherlock Holmes lived gave off its own scents. Whether the roads were paved or covered in mud, they would have played into Holmes's identifications.   And the transportation, whether mechanical or animal, was also part of this potpourri of aromas. The reality is that the city's smells, as pungent as they may have been, were for many p...

"One A, two B, and so on. You will hear soon." [REDC]   The secret code that Genarro and Emilia Lucca shared for passing messages to each other in "The Red Circle" was straightforward. Or was it?   In 1956, Donald Yates—then a 26 year-old budding Sherlockian—made an observation about the code, the alphabet(s), and the credit that was due to Sherlock Holmes for his invisible but lightning-quick ana...

"Halloa, Beryl!"  [HOUN]   In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Henry falls for Stapleton's sister, who was said to be "a young lady of attractions." However, Stapleton clearly didn't like the idea of the two of them together.   At the conclusion of the story, with Stapleton out of the picture, what was there to stop her and Sir Henry from becoming romantically involved? It's just a Trifle.     A...

"men of such a different type " [SOLI]   We're beginning a new monthly series focused on some of the best scholarship over the years. The kind of articles that highlight the creativity and ingenuity of Sherlockians and Holmesians as they consider some of the minutiae in the stories. The best of the best. We're calling this series "Masters Class."   In this inaugural episode, we look at an award-wi...

"I am one of the hounds" [STUD]   On two occasions in the Sherlock Holmes stories do we find Holmes employing a dog to help him track a scent. But beyond those two, Holmes himself displays canine-like properties.   While Conan Doyle does a wonderful job exposing us to so much of the late Victorian era, there's one area that doesn't come through: smells. What were some of the scents that attracted...

"On the very day that I had come to this conclusion" [STUD]  It all began with a chance meeting between two medical school colleagues at the Criterion Bar. Stamford then took Watson to St Bartholomew's Hospital (aka "Barts"), where, in a chemical laboratory, he made the acquaintance of one Sherlock Holmes. In Season 6, we're bringing back our monthly series "Mr. Sherlock Holmes the Theorist," in w...

"nothing but a welcome for my friend and colleague" [TWIS]   The great heroes of literature are frequently teamed up with a sidekick: Don Quixote with Sancho Panza, Robinson Crusoe with Friday, Huckleberry Finn with Tom Sawyer. But the key to these pairings is an underlying friendship.   In the final episode of Season 5, we take a look at one of the most obvious features of the Sherlock Holmes can...

"a curiously reptilian fashion" [FINA]   Aside from vipers, cobras, and adders, there are other reptiles in the Sherlock Holmes stories that either have a bearing on cases or are mentioned in passing. We're even able to find an amphibian or two.   In this final episode of our Exotic Animals series in Season 5, we visit the Reptile House and explore what the Victorians knew (or didn't know) about t...

"Homes seldom laughed." [MAZA]     Sherlock Holmes could be deadly serious. As in his encounter with Professor Moriarty, his matter-of-fact explanations, and when Watson wrote "Holmes seldom laughed" in "The Mazarin Stone."   But was Sherlock Holmes really all that humorless? Fortunately, we have decades of Watson's chronicles from which to choose. Let's get into it. After all, it's just a Trifle....

"Holmes pointed to the street lamp" [SIXN]   It's impossible to think about Victorian London without imagining street lamps. We're most familiar with the gas-powered versions, but there were other iterations before.    What was the origin of London's famous gas-lamps, and which Sherlock Holmes stories do they feature in? It's just a Trifle.   We also have an announcement about a special episode on...

"she confessed with distress" [LADY]   Sherlock Holmes took on clients of all sorts, often when they were puzzled, had nowhere else to turn, or were particularly worried.   And three ladies in particular in the Canon were worried. But they stand head and shoulders above some of the other female victims we find. Who are they and in which stories do they appear? It's just a Trifle.   We also have an...

"a love-story or an elopement" [SIGN]     We don't think of the Sherlock Holmes stories as being romances, and yet there are elements of romance that find their way into these tales about complicated human relationships at all levels.   We look across a handful of stories to tease out the romantic elements and love interests in them. It's just a Trifle.   We also have an announcement about a speci...

"a fierce old bird of prey" [SPEC]    Birds are part of British life. Such is the reality of living on an island. And there were a great variety of birds we hear about in the Sherlock Holmes stories.   While many of them were commonplace and part of the hunting and dining habits in Victorian England, there were others that were a little more exotic. It's just a Trifle.   We also have an announceme...

"You're crazy!" [DANC]  Sherlock Holmes had his eccentricities, without a question. Many scholars over the years have debated his mental health, with a wide variety of diagnoses.   But there has been a suggestion that a physical condition in Holmes and its treatment may very well have masked another disorder—one of the mind rather than the body. It's just a Trifle.     Links / Notes This episode: ...

"to produce his meretricious finales" [BLAN]  There are a number of times in the 60 Sherlock Holmes stories when Holmes criticizes Watson's efforts as a writer. Holmes takes the view of a practitioner, while Watson is trying to reach a different audience.   Indeed, it's when Holmes himself attempts to fill in for Watson that he finds just how difficult it is. Were Watson's conclusions meretricious...

"hereditary tendencies of the most diabolical kind" [FINA]  Family matters a great deal in the Sherlock Holmes stories, although we don't discover anything about Holmes and his family background until halfway through the stories that make up The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes , where we meet Mycroft.   And yet, there were many instances in which family bloodlines gave Holmes an indication of what he w...

"a pin, a cork, and a card" [HOUN]   When it came to exotic insects, butterflies were all the rage in Victorian England. They were sought after by naturalists and collectors, to become part of collections in studies as well as institutions.   We have a few collectors in the Canon who made it their business to pin butterflies to cork and display them. Here's what we know about them and about their...

 "extraordinary stories about your financial ability" [STOC]  Money was occasionally a concern for Sherlock Holmes. But when, and more importantly, why? All of those police engagements were likely pro bono work, after all.   His relationship with Watson began over the need to economize, and over the course of his career, he enjoyed some remarkably wealthy individuals as clients. It's just a Trifle...

 "Have you noticed anything amiss with them of late?" [SILV]  "The Three Gables" isn't likely to be found on anyone's "best of" list of Sherlock Holmes stories. It arrives late in the Canon, and rather weakly at that.   But it is worth pointing out a few items within that are rather curious. One might even call them a Trifle.   Have you left us a rating and review on  Apple Podcasts yet? You don't...

  " it was her plot as much as mine" [ABBE]  From the realm of conjecture: what if the star-crossed lovers in "The Adventure of Abbey Grange" and "The Problem of Thor Bridge" weren't simply victims of circumstance? What if the damsels in distress weren't being unfairly persecuted?    That is, what if they plotted the demise of the hated member of their love triangle and were able to fool Sherlock...

"Maybe you collect yourself, sir" [EMPT]  Sherlock Holmes shared his reading interests on occasion, and they tended to be wide and varied. Some of them were for professional development purposes, yet others seem to exist to expand his thinking.   Was Sherlock Holmes a book collector? And if he was, what kind of care did he take for his volumes? It's just a Trifle.   Have you left us a rating and r...

"pinned like a beetle on a card" [BLAC]  It's the third week of the month, and that means it's the exotic animal episode. Last month we covered worms, and we mentioned the slow-worm, which Mr. Sherman said kept the beetles down.   A listener called in with a comment on that episode, and it led to this one, where we look at this detestable insect, its place in Victorian England, and how it spread....