Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

"here's a hunting crop handy"  [IDEN]     In the last episode, we reflected on Sherlock Holmes chasing James Windibank out of Baker Street. While he did so, he referenced his handy hunting crop.    Hunting crops, do (ahem) crop up in the Canon from time to time. Who used them and why? What are they used for when not being brandished as weapons? It's just a Trifle.   If you have a suggestion for a...

"You'll be interested to hear that I am engaged."  [CHAS]     The name of this show was inspired in part by William Hyder, BSI ("A Most Valuable Institution"), who includes a half sheet of a trifling matter in the dinner packet of the Baker Street Irregulars each year. And as has become our tradition, each January, we use his Trifle.   Our attention turns to Hosmer Angel / James Windibank from "A...

"There was no other boarder" [VALL]     The third episode of every month in Season 8 finds us revisiting familiar ground: episodes under the "Mr. Sherlock Holmes the Theorist" category, as we revisit old Sherlockian scholarship.   This episode brings us to an overlooked chapter of a familiar book. It's James Keddie's "The Other Boarder" from Vincent Starrett's 221B: Studies in Sherlock Holmes , in...

"We traveled by the Underground" [REDH]       We're kicking off a new monthly series for Season 8: travel. Highly appropriate, as we travel to New York for the Baker Street Irregulars Weekend .   In this case, our travel is local within London. That is, the Underground. For as much as we associate Sherlock Holmes and London, his travel on the Underground was a bit limited. The late John Baesch, BS...

"I have myself found it a very soothing atmosphere" [GREE]     It's easy to think of Sherlock Holmes as an automaton — Watson himself called Holmes that exact word, remarking "There is something positively inhuman in you at times."   And yet, if we consider the detective's demeanor with clients and the types of activities he found solace in, we find a softer side of Holmes. It's just a Trifle.   ...

"Oh, my God! what a blind fool I have been!" [BERY]       Well, this is it. The final entry of Season 7 and of 2023. And it marks our 365th episode.    We reach the final episode in a quartet of episodes that took us as many months to complete, honoring Alfred Hitchcock as an inspiration. And we look back at the origins of the show, what some of the running themes have been, and where we'll take i...

"a charming coquettish intimacy" [3GAB]     The final installment in this season's Masters Class is another Christopher Morley essay, "Watson à la Mode," from Vol. 1 No. 1 of The Baker Street Journal (1946).   We discuss Morley's keen analysis of Watson's eye for fashion and an extraordinary conclusion about his marriages. It's just a Trifle.   Oh, and we've issued a challenge to Trifles Patreon s...

"the compliments of the season" [BLUE]     Here it is, 12 days before Christmas — the perfect time to celebrate with you. So we're doing it in style.   Listener Jim Zych was kind enough to share his trifling monograph "The 12 Sherlockian Days of Christmas," so we thought we might adapt it for you. So take a numerical journey through the Canon with us. It's just a Trifle.   If you have a suggestion...

"washed their hands of the matter" [GREE]    We like to think that the practice of hand washing is a universal occurrence. After a couple of years of a pandemic, it was certainly ingrained into the public's awareness (we hope).   But when it comes to life in the Sherlock Holmes stories, where do we find instances of manual hygiene? And when were some individuals positively slovenly? It's just a Tr...

"bear in mind" [MUSG]  Image credit: Russell Stutler   Can you think of the instances when bears are mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes stories? We'll give you a minute.   No? There are four specific mentions, but blink and you'll miss them. We cover them in this episode, along with exploring just why there are no bears in the United Kingdom. It's just a Trifle.   If you have a suggestion for a Trif...

"By Jove, Watson; I've got it!" [CHAS]    Last month, we contemplated the significance of the exclamation "By George!" So this month, we give ourselves over the gods as we explore "By Jove!"   What's the significance of a Jovian exclamation, what's the connection to being jovial, and who is described as such in the Sherlock Holmes stories? It's just a Trifle.   If you have a suggestion for a Trifl...

"This terrible secret" [FIVE]    Dr. Watson was a master of inconsistencies. Or perhaps sloppiness. Or, according to Christopher Morley, intentional obfuscation. With a little chronological detective work, he may have figured it out.   Just what was Watson's secret, and why was he keeping it? He did it so well that not only did he keep it from his readers, but from Sherlock Holmes himself. It's th...

"Now, then, give him the pencil." [GREE]    Writing implements are a part of daily life. They are today and they were when Watson was writing the stories.   And from the very first story, Watson picks up a pencil to jot some notes. Where else do we find pencils, and how do they play into the importance of some of the Sherlock Holmes stories? It's just a Trifle.   If you have a suggestion for a Tri...

"bag of tigers" [EMPT]    We continue to clean up and cover a few more animals that we missed in previous seasons. The tiger was another foreign curiosity for Victorians, being native to Asia – from the Russian Far East through parts of North Korea, China, India, and Southeast Asia to Sumatra (yes, that Sumatra).   While tigers in the Sherlock Holmes stories are few and far between, they're certai...

"I'm a free-born American" [STUD]    It's the final quarter of our Masters Class series, and this is the first of three essays we're going to bring you from the pen of Christopher Morley. Morely is important not only because he founded the Baker Street Irregulars, but because of his stature as a writer and person of his time.   His essay "Was Sherlock Holmes an American?" first appeared in 1934 bu...

"By George, it's marvellous!" [GOLD]  "By George!" It's an expression you've heard and read thousands of times, most likely. And it comes up in the Sherlock Holmes stories, naturally.   We found "by George" in 10 stories. Which ones were they? Who utters it? And what does it mean? Take the quiz along with us. It's just a Trifle.     If you have a suggestion for a Trifles episode, let us know at tr...

"a set of excellent teeth" [RESI]       Around these parts, we've surveyed the implications of teeth, teeth marks and other clues for the purpose of investigation and detection (listen to Episode 206), but we never looked comprehensively at teeth.   In this episode, our discussion ranges from Oscar Wilde's choppers to the history of unfair stereotypes, to pondering how one can tell the cut from a...

"you used to shoot lions" [MAZA]   Back in Season 5, we had a recurring feature: each month, we looked at a particular exotic animal from the Sherlock Holmes stories. Langur, mongoose, baboon, jellyfish, worms — a menagerie, for sure. The full playlist is in our links.    But we missed lions. Given our recent episode focusing on the terrible tragedy in "The Veiled Lodger," it made us realize there...

"He thought the tutor" [3STU]   The final installment in our Masters Class series featuring the work of Michael Harrison takes us into the world of Jack the Ripper via The World of Sherlock Holmes . Ripperologists have racked their brains for a century and a half with respect to the identity of Jack the Ripper.    Even more puzzling is why Sherlock Holmes never got involved in the case. Or, as Har...

"the most terrible human tragedies" [VEIL]   Having inadvertently left "The Veiled Lodger" out of our discussion about suicide in Episode 349, we put more focus on it in this episode. The introduction identifies it as "one of the most terrible human tragedies."    Is it a tragedy in the classical sense, involving a fall from greatness that evokes pity and terror, or is it merely a sad story? And a...

"I only breathe it among ourselves—a suicide" [GOLD]   LISTENER ADVISORY: This episode contains mentions of suicide, which some listeners may find disturbing.   September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and as part of our series on monthly observances, we take a look at suicides in the Canon.   Sherlock Holmes was never called in to investigate a suicide, but he encountered a few, along with...

"at the Manor House in consultation with his two colleagues" [VALL]   One of the great bits of fun of scanning the Sherlock Holmes stories is trying to determine the locations for some of the stories. In the case of The Valley of Fear , one of these identifications was made early on by Harold Wilmerding (H.W.) Bell.   But his commitment to the Canon would be dashed a decade and a half later by a s...

"Cut out the poetry, Watson "  [RETI]      The Hound of the Baskervilles holds a special place for many people. It is a gothic tale of horror, mystery, and the supernatural. A fine example of Conan Doyle's ability to tell a good story. Trevor Raymond, BSI, M. Bt.  thought it even lent itself to poetry.    We share two of his versions of The Hound in poetic form — as if written by two famous poets...

"he walked into my room in Montague Street "  [MUSG]      The Masters Class is now in session! For the second time, we turn to a Michael Harrison essay: this time, we wander the streets of London.   Michael's examination of Sherlock Holmes's rooms when he first came down to London is as workmanlike as it is eye-opening. And it's just a Trifle.   If you have a suggestion for a Trifles episode, let...