Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

“I do not feel justified in doing it” [HOUN]    In the last episode, we talked about the uncertainty of justice at the conclusion of some stories. Did the perpetrators find justice raining down on them? In some cases, it was left up to the reader's imagination.   This episode we're looking at some instances of justice that may not have been in proportion to the crime – or non crime, as the case may be.  It's just a Trifle.   Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts: Listen to Sherlock Holmes: Trifles      Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.     Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles184   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

“It’s every man’s business to see justice done” [CROO]    Everyone likes a neat ending. The case is solved, the criminal is caught, and justice is served.   But what about those Sherlock Holmes stories where the criminals escape? When the final action happens off-page or off-screen? There's not the same resolution there as when a Scotland Yard inspector claps handcuffs on the accused. Or is there?  It's just a Trifle.   Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts: Listen to Sherlock Holmes: Trifles      Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.     Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles183   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0   --

“the writer was on board of a ship.” [FIVE]  We were inspired by two articles in the Baker Street Journal, some forty years apart. Each made a study of ships' names in the Sherlock Holmes stories.   Of the named sailing vessels, what can we infer from those named after women? Unlike some of the other ships in the Canon, they're not listed in Lloyd's Register. Was it a Watsonian influence regarding the fair sex?  It's just a Trifle. Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts: Listen to Sherlock Holmes: Trifles      Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.     Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles182 Richard W. Clark's "On the Nomenclature of Watson's Ships" (BSJ Vol 1, No 2, 1946) and Donald Redmond's "Ship Ahoy, Captain Basil" (BSJ Vol 36, No 4, 1986) Mobile Holmes   Sponsor The BSI Press   Music cr

“an historical curiosity” [MUSG]  It's the third week of the month, which means it's our regular feature in Season 4: Mr. Sherlock Holmes the Theorist, the episode in which we investigate an old piece of Sherlockian scholarship and offer our commentary. This month, we feature "The Historicity of Sherlock Holmes" by Prof. Dirk J. Struik. Presented to the Speckled Band of Boston, it first appeared in print in the 1947 publication The Second Cab. Professor Struik's own association with the Band is just as interesting as his paper.  It's just a Trifle.   Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts: Listen to Sherlock Holmes: Trifles    Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.     Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles181 The Second Cab / The Best of the Cabs (AbeBooks) I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 135: Hel

"I have never loved" [DEVI] When you think of crimes in the Sherlock Holmes stories, many of them were crimes of passion. In a 1981 article in The Baker Street Journal, Julie Maynard makes the case that as many as twenty-five percent of the Canon involves adultery or implied adultery.  What was going on here? Was it an unconscious attempt from Conan Doyle? Or perhaps a conscious one? It's just a Trifle.   Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts: Listen to Sherlock Holmes: Trifles  Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.     Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles180   Sponsor The eBSJ   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0   --  

“Indeed, if I may make a full confession to you” [FINA]   They say confession is good for the soul. It's also good for the detective story. Sherlock Holmes found the suspects he sought in many cases, but he didn't have the backstory for all of them. The solution? A confession. Driven by fear, love or finality, a number of characters in the stories have reasons for confessing. And one was extracted by a clever trick by Holmes. It's just a Trifle.        Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts: Listen to Sherlock Holmes: Trifles    Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.   Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles179   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative C

“It may give him a sleepless night” [FIVE]   Have you had trouble sleeping lately? You're not alone. There were plenty of people in the Sherlock Holmes stories who struggled to sleep as well. Whether it was because they were horrified by something that happened to them, troubled by something they did, or were determined to crack a problem, they lost sleep over it. It may not seem like it to you, but it's just a Trifle.   Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts: Listen to Sherlock Holmes: Trifles  Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.   Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles178 On the Sleepless Lives of Writers (LitHub) Charles Dickens: Observer of Sleep and Its Disorders (American Sleep Disorders Association and Sleep Research Society) Short film: Honoré de Balzac's 50 Cups of Coffee a Day (Amazon Prime Vid

“Billy advanced and drew away” [MAZA]   We're used to reading about Mrs. Hudson ushering clients in and out, and providing various domestic services for Sherlock Holmes. But now and again, we find ourselves in the presence of young Billy, the page. What was a page? And was Billy the only one at 221B Baker Street? In Vol. 2, No. 3 of The Sherlock Holmes Journal, G.B. Newton made an assessment of who served and when in his article "Billy the Page," and in our monthly "Mr. Sherlock Holmes the Theorist" feature, we test his hypothesis. It's just a Trifle.   Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts: Listen to Sherlock Holmes: Trifles    And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.   Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles177 Page (servant) - Wikipedia The Sherlock Holmes Journal   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal

“we have got a foeman who is worthy of our steel” [HOUN]   There are a handful of cases where Sherlock Holmes meets an opponent who is formidable and antagonistic, but where he later turns out to be an ally. Who were some of these individuals? Which stories did they appear in? And just what was it that made them seem as if they were on he wrong side of the case? It's just a Trifle. Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts: And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.     Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles176   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0   --  

“a highly sensational and flowery rendering” [SIXN]    Flowers appear in a handful of spots in the Sherlock Holmes stories. More than the famous rose scene from "The Naval Treaty," they literally dot the countryside and color the scenery. From a flower that lent its name to one of the stories and a country house, to an obscure statesman, you may be surprised to discover the botanical connections in the Canon. It's just a Trifle.   Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.    And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.   Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles175   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0  

“the Colonel’s manner has been just a trifle cavalier” [SILV]   Having spent the last episode discussing the unusual setting and Holmes and Watson's friendship as displayed in "The Reigate Squires," our minds turned toward their host, Colonel Hayter. Or rather, of his fellow ranking military officers in the Canon. In fact, we realized that in the Sherlock Holmes stories, the title “Colonel” usually means bad news. Consider with us the various colonels and see how it strikes you. It's just a Trifle.   Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.   Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles174 Episode 45 - Military Morality   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons

“the fellows are still at large” [REIG]  In "The Reigate Squires," we find Sherlock Holmes ill and uprooted — staying in a country house — which, although it's a bachelor establishment, isn't quite what he's accustomed to. Although it may not be one of Holmes’s truly great cases, there is much to love in this story.  Watson was right there to back up Holmes in every way: reacting in horror to Holmes’s fainting fit, taking the blame for the overturned table, and even rescuing Holmes from the clutches of the murderers. It's just a Trifle.   Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.   Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles173   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Com

“Your hand stole towards your own old wound” [CARD]  Watson returns from Afghanistan, recovering from a wound in the shoulder and the aftereffects of disease. But we later discover that he had a leg wound as well.  Could it be the delirium that caused him to misstate his injuries? Or was there another reason for his error? Two old pieces of Sherlockian scholarship – one from the 1940s and another from the 1950s – each have a different theory. Which is correct? It's just a Trifle.   Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts: Listen to Sherlock Holmes: Trifles    And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.   Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles172 The Battle of Maiwand John Watson's Youth, Part 2   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

“the best and only final clue” [3STU]  In "The Adventure of the Three Students," Holmes has a litany of clues at his disposal. From balls of doughy clay to a tear in the leather of a desk, and more. And yet, he's fixated on this one clue that he claimed was "the best and only final clue." What was it? And was it truly the definitive clue in the story? It's just a Trifle.   Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts: Listen to Sherlock Holmes: Trifles  And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.     Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles171 The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance by Henry Petroski (Amazon)   Sponsor The BSI Press   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attributio

“my heart jumped so with joy” [STUD]    We commonly see clients who come to Sherlock Holmes riddled with despair and grief. But if we look closely enough, we can also find happiness and sheer joy in the Canon. The Sherlock Holmes stories contain the full range of human emotion, from anger to relief and from  anguish to jubilance. The more we looked for the upbeat, the more we found. It's just a Trifle. Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts.    And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.   Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles170   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0   --  

“helped a little to fill up the gap of loneliness and isolation” [MAZA]    There are many tragic figures in the Sherlock Holmes stories, and more than a handful are lonely or isolated in some way. This is either features in their predicament or gives us a better understanding of their personality. As many of us may be entering a period of isolation or loneliness now, we thought it was an apt topic to discuss. It's just a Trifle. Bonus: We recorded this live while on video, and you can find the link below.   Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  We're available everywhere you listen to podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, and RadioPublic. And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.   Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles169 Our live episode, with bonus content (YouTube)   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music cr

“Watson, the fair sex is your department” [SECO]   There was a scandal in Sherlockian circles in the early 1940s. Author Rex Stout, BSI ("The Boscombe Valley Mystery"), creator of Nero Wolfe, after careful research, determined that Watson was a woman. He presented his facts in the Saturday Review of Literature and let them sit. They didn't sit well with all Sherlockians, and Julian Wolff, BSI ("The Red-Headed League") took up his pen to offer a retort in "That Was No Lady." Both essays appeared in Edgar W. Smith's Profile By Gaslight, and we discussed them in our monthly feature "Mr. Sherlock Holmes the Theorist" episode. It's just a Trifle.    Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  We're available everywhere you listen to podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, and RadioPublic. And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.   Link

“I made every disposition of my property before leaving England” [EMPT]   After Holmes "died" at the Reichenbach Falls, wouldn't people have looked for a funeral or memorial service? Watson, in particular, would have expected to assist in such an arrangement.   As next of kin, Mycroft would have been expected to handle it, but that would have put him in an awkward position. If he was reluctant, that would have seemed suspect; but if he did, he knew how mischievous his younger brother could be, possibly disguising himself and witnessing his own funeral. What happened here? It's just a trifle.   Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  We're available everywhere you listen to podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, and RadioPublic. And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.   Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles167   Spon

“he contracted some loathsome disease” [YELL]   Dr. Watson was a general practitioner, and one "with very limited experience and mediocre qualifications," as Holmes blurted out in "The Dying Detective." It's the reason he called for a specialist in rare diseases. With global news being filled with talk of coronavirus, we thought it might be the perfect time to reflect on what we know about infectious diseases in the Sherlock Holmes stories. It's just a trifle.   Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.  We're available everywhere you listen to podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, and RadioPublic. And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or PayPal.   Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles165   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington

“work which will cut deep at the very foundations” [GOLD]  "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" first appeared in print in 1903 as part of The Return of Sherlock Holmes. It was the second story in the collection, after Sherlock Holmes was resurrected from what many thought was a watery grave. We can forgive the muddled minds of the time then, for missing a couple of key points in "The Norwood Builder." Key points that, had Holmes been on his game, would have given the whole charade away. It's just a trifle. Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet? You don't need to own an Apple device, and every review helps more people find the show.    We're available everywhere you listen to podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, and RadioPublic.   And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or  PayPal.     Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles165   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violi