Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

" insight into the character of parents" [COPP]    We're coming up on Mother's Day in the United States, and that made us think about parents. We've covered mothers in the Canon discussed alternative parents in previous episodes.    But now let's take a look at the most corrosive parental relationships in the Sherlock Holmes stories. After reading Jenn Eaker's article on "A Case of Identity" in th...

"Does it not strike you as a strange occupation" [RETI]  In the 60 tales that comprise the complete Sherlock Holmes stories, we come across a variety of jobs. Certainly there are the garden variety: cab drivers, butlers, governesses. But what about the more rare?    Sherlock Holmes billed himself as the world's only unofficial consulting detective, but he interacted with people whose jobs were out...

"see what V has to say" [SUSS]     Among the cases that Watson tantalizingly dangles before us, "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire" offers the  Matilda Briggs  and the giant rat of Sumatra (one of the tales we mentioned in  Episode 55  concerning  Weird Animals ), one of the most famous of the untold adventures.    But it also offers up a handful of others in quick succession, coming from the 'V...

"abstruse chemical analysis" [SIGN]    Along with the deerstalker, Inverness cloak, magnifying glass and curved pipe, Sherlock Holmes is most often associated with chemistry – chemical compounds as well as chemistry equipment.   In this installment of our Inside 221B series, we take a look at Sherlock Holmes's experience with chemistry and other laboratory setups we encounter in the stories.   Hav...

"I was overwhelmed by the honour" [BERY]     Sherlock Holmes was a well-known public figure. But he was also a known and sought-after expert specifically by other well-known public figures and entities.    Which notable public figures sought and received Holmes's services and then bestowed upon him some gift other than cash?  Have you left us a  rating  and  review  on the podcast player of your c...

"I heard you marching about" [SIGN]     From the first cricket match in England in 1877 to the wireless mentioned in 1914, there are numerous things connected to Sherlock Holmes that happened in the month of March.   As the month draws to a close, we reflect on happenings historical and Canonical. Let's see if our bluster lives up to the weather this month is known for. Have you left us a  rating ...

"two rather leprous mendicants" [ILLU]    When Watson glances across his notes and teases us with adventures that he and Sherlock Holmes have experienced, but only gives us a topic with only the barest of details, it makes us wonder exactly what happened.   So is the case in this episode as we talk about the Amateur Mendicant Society and its rather unique meeting location — which in this case coin...

"as we sat over a glass of whisky and soda in Baker Street" [REDH]    Step into the sitting room at 221B Baker Street with us again and look around, as we take in the sights, smells and sounds within that most famous of addresses.    This time, we investigate the physical elements that accompany alcoholic drinks within the walls of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson's abode. Namely: the gasogene and t...

"a line of books of reference beside the mantelpiece" [NOBL]    In Episode 58, we discussed Sherlock Holmes's index books – those collections in which he tracked criminal cases, looked up necessary trivia, etc. But this time, we reach a little deeper and discuss some of the actual named reference books at 221B Baker Street.   Which publications were these and how did they help Holmes and Watson co...

"Now Watson, the fair sex is your department." [SECO]    John Watson knew women; Holmes tells us so. And Watson certainly tells us so, in his admiration of Mary Morstan as well as his description of some of the leading ladies of the Canon. He also told us outright in  The Sign of Four  that he's managed to get around: "In an experience of women which extends over many nations and three separate co...

"never more seen in this world" [THOR]    In "The Problem of Thor Bridge," Watson treats us to a tantalizing look at the possibilities that lie before us as readers: "Somewhere in the vaults of the bank of Cox and Co., at Charing Cross, there is a travelworn and battered tin dispatch-box with my name, John H. Watson, M.D., Late Indian Army, painted upon the lid. It is crammed with papers, nearly a...

"applying his tape to the walls" [STUD]  There's quite a bit we know about the inner sanctum of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson at 221B Baker Street. The cozy sitting room with its fireplace and windows at once beckons us in to look around.   Upon glancing at the walls, though: what do we see? Is it typical of Victorian bachelor decor? Or is there hidden meaning behind any of the wall hangings? We...

"Good old index. You can't beat it." [SUSS]  Sherlock Holmes had quite the index. We get glimpses of it in use at various times throughout the Canon, from a biographical reference to a logging of crime. Was Holmes's index a single large volume, or many smaller volumes? Was it hardbound or simply an assembly of files?   And it never quite seemed like it was organized in a sensible way. How did Holm...

"Mrs. Hudson entered with the tea and coffee" [NAVA]  When it comes to British mysteries, tea is like aqua vitae. It's a given that it's part of the scenery. And of course we do come across tea a number of times in the Sherlock Holmes stories.   But have you ever taken a tally of how many times we witness tea being served versus coffee? Or of the therapeutic uses of either? Grab a cup (or a cuppa)...

"it is surely Hudson" [GLOR]  One of the most enduring figures of the Canon after Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Mycroft Holmes and Inspector Lestrade is Mrs. Hudson. We know a little about her, but how did she happen to become the landlady of 221B Baker Street? And what were the "princely" rent payments that Holmes made? As we make our way across the Sherlock Holmes stories, we do come across one o...

"it is a nice household" [SPEC]    We've got another recurring feature for you here on Trifles: seeing as there were so many unpublished cases that Watson mentioned, we find that there are plenty of trifles to discuss with regard to those. We're calling this series of episodes  Unpublished Cases  and we'll regularly revisit the topic.   When we glance across a number of such cases that Watson ment...

"upon the sideboard" [BERY]    In this episode of Trifles, we're starting what will become a recurring feature over the course of a few episodes: namely, we're looking at some of the things you'll find in Sherlock Holmes's sitting room at 221B Baker Street. We're calling the series Inside 221B .    The sideboard makes a number of appearances in the Canon, and serves as a solemn but essential membe...

"compound a felony as usual." [3GAB]  Welcome to Season 2 of Trifles. We'll be working through some of the questions we ask in our show introductions this season, including a number of recurring themes. We hope you'll subscribe.  In  Episode 48 ("Gotcha!") we discussed times when Sherlock Holmes caught his criminal red-handed, dead to rights. But what about the times that he caught criminals but l...

"compliments of the season" [BLUE]    "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" is one of the more well-known stories in the Canon. And yet we're presented with a few trifling issues, including the color of the gem.   But beyond that, we have a victim and perpetrators who didn't seem to have thought through things to their logical conclusion. How else can we factor in the use of poultry as a hiding pl...

"there was peace in our hearts" [SIGN]    Peace in the canon. Reading the Sherlock Holmes stories to find peace is something like going to Casablanca for the water.       "But there are no waters in Casablanca."       "I was misinformed."   Regardless, during this season of peace, we reflect on moments — even if they're glimpses — of bucolic, peaceful moments we find scattered throughout the Sherl...

"what a chorus of groans, cries and bleatings" [REDC]    Agony column. Agony column? To the modern reader, that term might be unfamiliar. Well, at least it would be unfamiliar with the reader who is new to the Sherlock Holmes stories. The first time we come across Holmes using the agony column is in  The Sign of Four  when he advertised for the  Aurora  in the agony column of the  Standard .     H...

"You have a grand gift of silence, Watson" [TWIS]     When Cyril Overton sent a telegram to Sherlock Holmes, proclaiming the status of Godfrey Staunton, it was met with puzzlement. And even after Overton arrived at Baker Street, Holmes was still puzzled. We know that he had his "limits," based on Watson's famous list from  A Study in Scarlet .   But Watson sat in silence as Holmes twisted in the w...

"you have been caught in the act" [BERY] One of the general bits of enjoyment of the Sherlock Holmes stories is the denouement in which Sherlock Holmes apprehends the criminal. In some instances, he does so after the crime has been committed; in other instances, no crime has been committed.  But what about those delicious times when the criminals are caught in the act? Or even better, those instan...

"to mar the contentment of their family life" [VALL]   Family. For many, it's a part of the holiday season. And with Thanksgiving coming up tomorrow in the United States, it's a perfect opportunity to reflect on families in the Sherlock Holmes stories.    And in doing so, we come to a rather sad conclusion: that many of the families in the Canon were not happy ones at all. Just what was it about t...

"observing the dint of a pince-nez" [IDEN]  For many of us, the first time we encounter the word "pince-nez" is in the Sherlock Holmes stories. But for many of us, we very likely saw pince-nez on characters in movies, cartoons or the theater before we knew exactly what they were called.   Mentioned in three separate stories (do you know which three?), the eyewear is most closely associated with th...