Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

"His Grace is surprised, Dr. Huxtable" [PRIO] The opening of "The Adventure of the Priory School" is one of the best in the entirety of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Dr. Huxtable lands on the bearskin rug and from Watson's brandy administration to Holmes helping himself to the contents of Huxtable's pockets, it's vintage Sherlock Holmes. What do we know of Dr. Huxtable, an...

"by the honour of your mother" [SIGN]    There's no question that fathers play a significant role in many of the Sherlock Holmes stories. But what about mothers? As Mothers Day will be celebrated on May 14 in the United States, we thought it was an appropriate time to look at mothers and motherly figures in the Canon. From independent women to those who tragically lost their mothers, we see a comm...

"have a look at the horse" [SILV]  One of the best regarded stories in the Sherlock Holmes canon is "Silver Blaze." The story has so many elements to it that lend themselves to the lore of Sherlock Holmes: the Baker Street opening, the image of Holmes and Watson in the railway carriage, a number of famous quotes. We'll be revisiting this story again in Trifles. But for this time, our focus is on t...

"I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain" [3GAR] In "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches," we're treated to a range of emotions and reactions from Sherlock Holmes. The opening scene is one of those Canonical gems: Outside, there is a thick fog, while inside, we see a cheery fire, the gleaming breakfast table, and an eloquently irritable Holmes with his cherry-wood pipe, exp...

"it is with a heavy heart" [FINA]  "The Final Problem" is a shocking tale, both for contemporaries of the Strand Magazine as well as for first-time readers of The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. Christopher Morley wrote: "Devoted readers have rarely had such a shock as the opening words of this story when it first appeared in the Strand Magazine." And so too did we. Some reflections on the drastic tur...

"tell me how you came alive" [EMPT]  While there is no explicit mention of Easter in the Sherlock Holmes story, we do have a story arc that follows the Easter mystery. While Holmes himself may not have been terribly religious (although he did express some acknowledgement of a higher power from time to time), he respected the tradition and the necessary belief in resurrection.    

"roused its snakish temper" [SPEC]    "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is consistently ranked as one of the most popular Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. And in it, there are so many gems, so many possibilities to explore. We manage to delve into a few of them, including Dr. Roylott's clever yet poorly executed plan, the seemingly disparate time it took for victims to...

"quarter day is at hand" [WIST]    There are at least two instances in the Sherlock Holmes stories when we come across a mention of quarter day. Just what is quarter day, and what is the significance with regard to these two stories?  We delve into the history of quarter days, cross-quarter days and why the real estate market had such an impact on calendars and ultimately played into the plots of...

"To Sherlock Holmes, she is always the woman" [SCAN] It is the first story in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and it is also the first of what we might call the stories of legend: those Canonical tales that have inspired our imaginations far beyond the events that Watson wrote down. We already have Holmes and Watson, legends enough for anyone, but just as "The Greek Interpreter" reveals brother...

"you could not celebrate him without being known yourself" [HOUN]    With mid-March upon us, we thought it was high time to investigate some of the Irish connections in the Sherlock Holmes stories. From the obvious to the subtle, we go from Belfast to Waterford to Skibbereen, across the pond to America, and back again.    Short stories and novels alike, there are glimpses of the Emerald Isle in a...

"He was clad in his dressing gown" [CREE]   You'll find Sherlock Holmes lounging in his dressing gown in no fewer than 14 of the original stories. And yet, its color changed from story to story. Sherlock Holmes's dressing gown was alternatively purple, blue and mouse — how can this be? We discuss the possibilities that scholars have put forth over the course of many decades and even add our own co...

"embrace the true faith" [STUD]  We see glimpses of religion in a number of stories, from plot devices to red herrings, saintly inferences to clever disguises. What role did religion play in the Sherlock Holmes stories? And Arthur Conan Doyle's own faith had some bearing on what we see as well. It's a chat about religion, faith, and their multitude of instances in the Canon.   Links The Adventures...

"it is a very sweet little problem" [BERY]    One of the more comical openings to a story occurred in "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet," in which the banker Alexander Holder raced his way through to snow to 221B Baker Street, which he followed by beating his head against the wall. You don't get much more dramatic than that. But when it comes to reporting the crime, would the criminal, Holder, o...

"what's amiss with the names?" [VALL]    One of the most puzzling passages in the Sherlock Holmes stories is when Mrs. Watson referred to her husband, the good Doctor, as "James." However, we know that his given name is John. What could be afoot here? Was it a typo? An impostor? A slip of the tongue? We review some of the longstanding theories and even provide a few of our own to see if we might g...

"a puzzled quarter of an hour" [MISS] The Sherlock Holmes stories are filled with hints of dates, places and people that cause them to be intertwined with reality. It is therefore natural to think that we can arrive at some certainty as to the date of an adventure when Watson gives us a specific month in which a case begins. It is also wrong to think so. "The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter...

Charles Augustus Milverton was considered by Sherlock Holmes to be "the worst man in London." Watson tried to shield the date of the case — not to protect Milverton, but to protect his victims. And Holmes and Watson went to extraordinary lengths to defeat the odious blackmailer, from burglary to destruction of property, and even a faux engagement by Holmes. While reputation was everything in Victo...

"vox populi, vox dei" [ABBE] Sir Eustace Brackenstall met with a grisly, if appropriate end in "The Abbey Grange." Ultimately, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson let his killer go free. But was Captain Crocker solely responsible for Brackenstall's death? Other individuals were involved with the calm plotting of the aftermath of the death — but whose shoulders bear the ultimate brunt of the guilt in th...

"something a little nutritious at Simpson's" [DYIN]   Dr. Watson tells us that he and Sherlock Holmes visited one London restaurant two times. And while the gustatory habits of the famed Baker Street duo are not entirely well-documented, we have a good sense as to what they must have eaten at the famed Simpson's in-the-Strand. This is a case of fact meeting fiction, as Simpson's is very much a rea...

The opening lines of A Study in Scarlet are rich with details about Dr. Watson's past. His medical degree, his army service, even his injury. He recalls how he came to London without knowing anyone in the city and proceeded to blow through his cash reserves.   Just how far could one get on 11s. 6p. per day in 1881? And how fortunate we are that Watson couldn't keep to his budget. For his cash situ...

The new year usually brings resolutions and offers a new beginning. In our new podcast which begins in January 2017, we thought it was the ideal time to look at optimism in the Sherlock Holmes stories.   Was there more hope or despair in the Canon? Certainly, many cases began with despair, but which ones ended in optimism?   From "The Stockbroker's Clerk" to "The Copper Beeches," we have clients w...