Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

"a last howl of agony "  [HOUN]      Modern times give animals nearly as many rights as humans, but such was not the case in Victorian times. Unfortunately, there are numerous occasions when animals are made to suffer at the hands of humans in the Sherlock Holmes stories.   Who are the animals in question and what nefarious purposes did their sad fates serve? It's just a Trifle.   If you have a su...

" as his car swung  round the village street"  [LAST]    As you know, most of the Sherlock Holmes stories were set squarely in the Victorian era. Only a handful extended beyond 1900, and only one mentioned automobiles.   However, that's not to say that Conan Doyle wasn't intensely interested in the newfangled machinery, In fact, he wrote two stories that featured cars and even had a few harrowing...

"called me in seven times "  [ABBE]    There's something magical about the number seven. Whether or not it appears more than other numbers in the Sherlock Holmes canon is beyond our research capabilities.   However, there are some interesting and memorable associations with the number seven that we thought worth noting, thanks to a clever identification by Ruth Buchholtz in "Seventy-Seven Canonica...

"this evening at 221B, Baker Street" [BLUE]  Image credit: Russell Stutler   It's time once again for the Masters Class, the episode each month in which we look at an exemplary piece of Sherlockian scholarship and discuss its merits.   This is our first of three forays into the work of Michael Harrison as found in his book In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes . His unique perch between generations...

"this quick succession of strange surprises"  [SIGN]    There are some trifles that are too trifling to stand on their own. Then again, Burt and Scott tend to have the ability to stretch out any bit of minutiae into an exposition.   Three topics came to our attention lately, and we felt they were deserving of a quick discussion: the seven schemes in "The Missing Three-Quarter," the size of the dog...

"What do you say, dear?"  [BOSC]    One of the earlier cases in The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes , "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" is filled with wonderful scenes and phrases that carry us through the entire Sherlock Holmes canon.   It doesn't get the same level of attention as some of the other stories from that collection, but there's a series of items that are oddities  —  even Trifles.   If you...

"a nice taste in wines" [LAST]    In this month's Masters Class, we turn for the final time to a work of Edgar W. Smith's, "Up From the Needle," as featured in Vol. 2, No. 1 (1947) of The Baker Street Journal .    Edgar takes us away from the canard of Sherlock Holmes as a drug addict and gives us an oenophile's assessment of Sherlock Holmes as a wine fancier. It's just a Trifle.   If you have a s...

"It is, of course, a trifle" [TWIS]    Sometimes there are moments in the Sherlock Holmes stories when we just take Holmes at his word, giving little thought to the logic behind it. We simply trust him.   But when it comes to "The Man with the Twisted Lip," it seemed a little odd that he had to stay out at Neville St. Clair's home, seven miles from the heart of London. What was going on there? It'...

"I've learned not to cry over spilled milk" [SIGN]    Between recent episodes on Eggs and Breakfast, it seems like we've had our fill of comestibles. Well, this isn't a podcast to be trifled with, so we're headed to the dairy.   We look at instances of milk and butter in the Sherlock Holmes stories while investigating the trouble with the dairy industry in Victorian England. It's just a Trifle.  ...

"Is alcohol permitted?" [MAZA]      We've explored a number of angles around alcohol in the Sherlock Holmes stories, but it recently struck us that there are glimpses of alcoholism in the Canon. Victorians were no different in their struggles with alcohol, although the disease wasn't recognized as one at the time. Where in the stories can we find evidence or mentions of alcoholics? Why did Holmes...

"I travelled for two years" [EMPT]      This month's Masters Class features the second in our three essays by Edgar W. Smith. In Vol. 1 No. 3 of The Baker Street Journal from 1946, Smith wonders about Sherlock Holmes's travels between 1891 and 1894.   More specifically, he compares global events and geographical and cultural realities to Holmes's story, and something isn't quite right. Where does...

"We have touched on three" [TWIS]    Since this is Episode 333 and since there are three stories in the Canon that incorporate the number three in their titles, we thought it was time to turn our attention to the "magic number," as three is known.   Why that number of students, gables, and Garridebs? What's the significance of the number three that it should occupy such a prominent role in the sto...

"Why not take police precautions against him?" [FINA]      When reading "The Final Problem," it's difficult not to be caught off-guard. After all, it opens with Watson telling us these are the last words he'll write about Sherlock Holmes.   But when we step back and look at the story with sober eyes, we realize that the police story Holmes tells Watson just doesn't add up. And it's just a Trifle....

"when I have exterminated that fourth egg" [VALL]    While we discussed breakfast in the last episode, we felt we paid more attention to the toast than the eggs. And there was one quote in particular that didn't make the cut.   We recall that quote, search for an egg-seller in the Sherlock Holmes stories, and ponder the evolution of chickens and eggs in the history of human cuisine. Which came fir...

"we had breakfasted" [CHAS]    For all the meals we hear about in the Sherlock Holmes stories – not to mention Mrs. Hudson having a good idea of breakfast – what were some of the regular morning comestibles?   Come to think of it, there weren't many breakfasts mentioned in the Canon aside from one very consequential one. Can you think of others? It's just a Trifle.   If you have a suggestion for a...

"an anonymous communication from a quarter" [VALL]    Just who was it that wrote "His Last Bow"? We know it wasn't Watson, as there were observations about him in the third person and a narrative of actions that didn't include him.   In our monthly Masters Class series, we turn to the first of three pieces by the eminent Sherlockian Edgar W. Smith, who takes us on an exemplary journey of observati...

"a varied collection of weapons" [CROO]      Watson was wounded by a Jezzail bullet, Holmes fired a patriotic 'V.R.' into the wall at Baker Street, and the two leveled their pistols at the hound in the climactic scene.   But as we peruse the Canon, we find that there is a wide variety of weaponry. In some cases, a choice of weapon (or discerning one) was downright imaginative. And it's just a Trif...

"one by one passed through into the little garden" [STUD]    Whether we think of British gardens as landscaped acres of greenery or as the source for finer botanical specimens such as roses, the Sherlock Holmes stories are littered with these examples of outdoor offerings.    April is National Garden Month, so we survey the Canon. From the plantings of John Ferrier to untended weeds of Josiah Ambe...

"Old woman be damned!" [STUD]    One of the wonderful things about examining and reexamining the Sherlock Holmes canon is that we can find things that take on special meanings to us. And two different people can interpret the same thing in vastly different ways.    Listener Erik Deckers suggested that we find a topic that was interpreted wildly differently by two Sherlockians. So we started out wi...

"any emotion akin to love" [SCAN]    Sherlock Holmes doesn't seem to have a high opinion of women, although he does a fine job of understanding them when it comes to their expressions, reactions, and motivations. Irene Adler aside, what can we infer about the love life of Sherlock Holmes?    It's a question that Trevor Hall raised in Sherlock Holmes: Ten Literary Studies, and it's the last in a se...

"a feeling of vague expectancy" [LAST]    "Beware the Ides of March." So went the warning from the soothsayer to the title character in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar .     But when it comes to the Sherlock Holmes canon, where do we find feelings of foreboding? Who had premonitions and what happened as a result? It's just a Trifle.   If you have a suggestion for a Trifles episode, let us know...

"that is my special hobby" [HOUN]    We all have hobbies. Indeed, our interest in Sherlock Holmes is a perfect example.   What do we know about hobbies and hobbyists in the Canon? There are those who have professional hobbies and personal hobbies, and then there's the story about how Sherlock Holmes's hobby led to his profession. It's just a Trifle.   If you have a suggestion for a Trifles episode...

"I found myself in dream-land" [SIGN]    Regular sleep patterns seem to be a rarity in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Watson dozed off while Holmes remained vigilant or was prevented from sleeping by something he saw; various clients described something disturbing their sleep.   Such instances of sleepless days and nights, rude awakenings, and other sleep-related issues give us plenty somnia interru...

"the title by which I have just called myself is not exactly my own" [SCAN]    We're treated to a variety of colorful characters in the Sherlock Holmes canon. Some are figments of Conan Doyle's imagination while others are dangerously close to historical figures.   We took a look at a few names in "A Scandal in Bohmeia" and made some educated guesses about who or what was behind people like the At...