Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

"passionate, whole-hearted, tropical, ill-balanced" [THOR]    Maria Gibson (nee Pinto) was a troubled woman. What could have driven her to her final acts? Is she a victim? A villain? A sympathetic character?    If anything she was less two-dimensional than she is typically assumed to be. Could her demise have indeed been a murder rather than a suicide? It's just a Trifle.   Have you left us a rati...

"a general practitioner with very limited experience and mediocre qualifications" [DYIN]    We know Watson had a serious medical career before he met Holmes. But what do his qualifications mean? And aside from the brandy, how did his training come in handy?   Helen Simpson's "The Medical Career of John H. Watson" in H.W. Bell's Baker Street Studies  provides some insight into what Watson was telli...

"some arm-chair lounger who evolves" [STUD]  From a humble beginning to the heights of international fame and importance, the career of Sherlock Holmes was a rocket ride. And his personal relationships took an opposite ride.   This is the third and final entry in this series on the evolution of Sherlock Holmes. And it's anything but a Trifle.   Have you left us a rating and review on  Apple Podcas...

"Why does fate play such tricks with poor, helpless worms?" [BOSC]   On the third episode of every month in Season 5, we explore exotic animals in the Sherlock Holmes canon. This month's animal is a rare one: worms.   While you may be thinking the only reference is the remarkable worm unknown to science that left Isadora Persano stark staring mad, there are a few others. But just a Trifle more.  ...

"window-breaking Furies" [VALL]   Windows are everywhere in the Sherlock Holmes stories. But in certain cases, they form an essential part of the plot. In some cases, it may be transparent. In others, not so much. Whether they're decorative, a passage of one form or another, or are broken in the course of a crime, some windows serve a purpose in the Canon. It's just a Trifle.   Links / Notes This...

"It is full of old houses which are named after the men who built them centuries ago." [SUSS]   Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a master storyteller. He gave us memorable characters and plots that painted a picture over the course of the entire Canon. But more than plot or characters, place played an outsized role. What does the geography in the Sherlock Holmes stories tell us? It's just a Trifle. And...

"evolved from his own inner consciousness" [BOSC]  In Episode 237, we looked at how Holmes's personality traits changed over the course of his career. We're back for another look using four separate stories, each 10 years apart. What can the Canon tell us about the ways Holmes's interests, tastes, enthusiasms, relationships, reputation, and more changed during his long career? It's just a Trifle....

"Cyanea! Cyanea!" [LION]   In the third week of every month in our fifth season, Trifles looks at exotic animals. We turn to the sea this time, examining jellyfish. And this episode brought us into contact with an old publication: the Catalogue of an Exhibition Held at Abbey House, Baker Street, London, May–September 1951 . For those intimately familiar with the Sherlock Holmes stories, there is o...

"Let me show you the evolution of this case" [WIST]   In our last episode, we discussed the subtle yet undeniable change in the nature of the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Lestrade. But what about the evolution of Holmes himself? What aspects of his character changed over the course of his career, from a 20-something during his first case at university to his final case four d...

"That you, Lestrade?" [EMPT] One might say that Sherlock Holmes and Inspector G. Lestrade had a contentious relationship. While this may be the popular stereotype between the two professionals, a long-term assessment doesn't bear this out. Listener Ron Lies has shared a paper of his that takes us through the Holmes-Lestrade relationship chronologically, and things may be a little different than th...

"Altogether there are eight maids" [MUSG]   Two stories. Two jewels. Two lady's maids. And two strikingly similar circumstances. In "The Blue Carbuncle" and "The Six Napoleons," published just 11 years apart, we can find some remarkable parallels that result in the disappearance of minor players who were involved in critical plot points. It's just a Trifle.   Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/tri...

"some secret society, some implacable organization" [VALL]  We know the Mafia, the KKK, and other named secret societies permeate the Sherlock Holmes stories. They add to the mystery and mystique of the plots. But what were some of the lesser-known secret societies? And were they really that secret? It's just a Trifle. Have you left us a rating and review on  Apple Podcasts  yet? You don't need to...

"the direct nature of the experiment" [BRUC]   It's the third week of the month, and that means it's time for our Exotic Animals feature! When you hear "rat" anywhere near the Sherlock Holmes stories, there are three possible conclusions: the Giant Rat of Sumatra, Ballarat, or... Lab rats, which is our topic of discussion. While lab rats aren't literally mentioned in the Canon, there are some figu...

"The best possible" [NOBL]   In Episode 231, we left you with a bit of a cliffhanger. The show was filled with answers to questions from listeners, and one asked about our favorite Sherlock Holmes stories.  Rather than boring you with only our personal preferences, we got into a history of the best Sherlock Holmes stories, first as judged by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, and later by multitudes...

"they are pretty sure to ask questions anyhow, so it would be as well to have answers" [RETI]   We're doing something a little different for this episode. There are certain elements about the Sherlock Holmes stories that are just too trifling out of which to create an entire episode. So we turned to you. We're answering questions that you have submitted, hopefully providing more clarity than less....

"That is very fortunate" [SCAN]   Sherlock Holmes didn't believe in superstition, the supernatural, or random guesses. He was a detective who dealt in facts and data. And yet, the canon of Sherlock Holmes stories is littered with coincidences (happy or otherwise) and instances of luck. How did these play into the stories and Holmes's ability to solve them? It's just a Trifle.    Have you left us a...

"the whole story concerning the politician, the lighthouse, and the trained cormorant" [VEIL]   There is one scant mention of a cormorant in the Sherlock Holmes stories — in one of Watson's enticing throwaway lines of a case which we'll never read. In "The Veiled Lodger," he tells us about the case involving a trained cormorant that might be revealed to the public. But what is a cormorant? Can it...

"I stooped to the eyepiece and focussed for my vision." [SHOS]  Given Arthur Conan Doyle's training in the field of eye medicine, it's no surprise that we find a number of Sherlock Holmes characters who wear glasses. In fact, an entire story is named after a set of eyewear. Who were some of the bespectacled band in the Sherlock Holmes stories? It's just a Trifle.   Links / Notes This episode:  iho...

"the sending of general messages" [VALL]    Sherlock Holmes was an inveterate message sender and receiver. The many notes, letters, telegrams, cryptogram, and other forms of communication that passed by his view made for key clues in some cases. We wondered how things might have turned out differently in certain cases if the frequency of messages were different. And how, in certain cases, Holmes d...

"I am a poor man" [PRIO]   Time and again, we find people in the Sherlock Holmes stories who are having money problems. As in money problems drastic enough to cause them to make unfortunate decisions. Who were some of these people, and what hard choices did they make? We have a few of them; it's just a Trifle.    Have you left us a rating and review on  Apple Podcasts  yet? You don't need to own a...

"like a viper's tooth" [DYIN] Here we are again, ready to tackle the monthly topic of exotic animals. So naturally, we turn to the wiper. Wait, the what ? Suffice it to say that the oddly-identified snake does have a place in the Sherlock Holmes stories, although way down at the East End. Oh, and there's the little matter of a Great War publishing machine. It's just a Trifle. Support us on Patreon...

"It is fortunate for this community that I am not a criminal."[BRUC] Sherlock Holmes certainly ran with a rough crowd. Burglars, murderers, blackmailers, thieves, spies, kidnappers, and even politicians. Given his store of criminal knowledge, what stopped him from becoming a criminal himself? Wait just a moment; while his cause was justice, his practice wasn't always on the right side of the law....

"a sharp touch of brain-fever" [MUSG]    Inspired by two sources of Sherlockian medical scholarship, we decided to discuss brain fever. What was brain fever, medically speaking? And why does it only rear its head in Victorian literature? Was it an actual affliction, or just a literary device? It's just a Trifle.     Please consider supporting our efforts through  Patreon  or  PayPal .       Links...

"Apply 221B, Baker Street" [NAVA]    Last week, we left you hanging with Vincent Starrett's chapter in his book  The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes .    We couldn't leave it unfinished, so we're back with the second half. And a special treat at the conclusion of the episode—also with a 221B theme.  It's just a Trifle.     Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts: Listen to Sherlock Holmes: Tr...

"I have my eye on a suite in Baker Street" [STUD]   There is no question that 221B Baker Street is the most famous address in all of fiction. What makes it interesting is its non-existence at the time of the stories' publications, and legions of fans attempting to determine its actual location afterward.   Vincent Starrett was a huge fan of this game. So much so that he dedicated a chapter in his...