Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

"excellent wild-duck shooting" [GLOR]  When we think of English country estates, it's only natural to think of outdoor activities. In many cases this included the pastimes of hunting and shooting. Where in the Sherlock Holmes stories do we find the landed gentry headed off to bring down some quarry that the gamekeeper has stocked? Our monthly series on games and sports take us on this wild goose c...

"three times repeated" [FIVE]  There's a familiar plot device that runs throughout a number of Sherlock Holmes stories. That number is three, but do you know which stories make use of it? We discuss this recurring theme, where it's the most convincing, and why humans get hoodwinked by such arrangements. It's just a Trifle.   Have you left us a rating and review on  Apple Podcasts  yet? You don't n...

"he was bearded" [SIGN]   Well this is embarrassing. As we finished our editing and prepared to leave for a business trip, we realized one critical fact about this topic: we've already  talked about it  (in Episode 105). Nevertheless, we suggest you listen and perhaps compare and contrast the two episodes. Yes, there may be a little overlap, but the discussion goes to show how the Sherlock Holmes...

"he still made India too hot to hold him" [EMPT]  India is a wonderful land. And it plays a part in a number of Sherlock Holmes stories. Certainly, it's a center point in  The Sign of Four , but where else do we find the influence of India in the Canon?    In our regular feature of international influences in the Sherlock Holmes stories, we learn about battles, cities, districts and other Indian c...

"I'm a bit of a single-stick expert, as you know" [ILLU]  In listing Sherlock Holmes's limits in A Study in Scarlet, Dr. Watson indicates that Holmes is something of an amateur sportsman: "11. Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman." In this latest entry in our Games and Sports series, we look at singlestick and its relation to other pastimes and run-ins in the Canon. It's just a Tr...

"Let us escape from this weary workaday world by the side door of music." [RETI]   Sherlock Holmes took a great interest in musicians and concerts, mentioning a few by name in the Canon.  In the last episode, we discussed composers and their works; this time, it's off to violin-land where all is sweetness and light. We look at performers real and fictional, where they plied their trade, and what i...

"a composer of no ordinary merit." [REDH]  From the very beginning of the Sherlock Holmes stories, we know that Sherlock Holmes plays the violin. It's one of the personality traits he admits to Watson and that Watson later chronicles. In addition to Holmes's own performances, we come across a number of other composers and their works in the Canon. Who and what were they? It's just a Trifle.   Have...

"a man might as well live in Russia" [VALL]  The connections between Sherlock Holmes an Russia—in the Sherlock Holmes stories themselves, as least—would seem to be limited. Yet it provides much information for a robust discussion. From exported goods to crimes from two decades previous, we encounter a smattering of mentions of the Land of Rus. What do they tell us about Sherlock Holmes? And what w...

"He started in his little yacht" [BLAC]  There are plenty of instances of maritime transportation in the Sherlock Holmes stories. But when it comes to pleasure crafts, we're left with a scant few. The use various boats for leisure and sporting activities is present sporadically throughout the Canon, so you have to pay attention. We investigate these few instances, plus a supposition. It is of cour...

"you were on the battlefield" [BLAN]  In the last episode, Robert Katz, BSI began to take us through his theory of where Dr. Watson spent his early years. He used the facts given to us by Watson himself, combined with the reasoning of Sherlock Holmes to arrive at some conclusions. This week, he brings us the other half of the story: after Watson moved from Australia to America, he tells us about t...

"I travelled in my youth" [TWIS]  We know little about Dr. Watson's life, aside from what he managed to tell us. Yes, he was in the Army's medical department. Yes, he was wounded. And he needed to find a flatmate to be able to afford London on his pension. But what about beyond that? Sherlock Holmes was able to make some inferences from a watch that Watson's brother bequeathed to him. There are a...

"her people have been leaders in Pernambuco for generations" [3GAB]   South America and its exotic tropical climate is about as far removed from the dampness of England as one can find. Its collective countries stand in juxtaposition to proper Victorian customs, and anything in the Sherlock Holmes stories that touches South America is suspect. We look at some of the men and women associated with t...

"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...