Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

“men of such a different type” [SOLI]   We're beginning a new monthly series focused on some of the best scholarship over the years. The kind of articles that highlight the creativity and ingenuity of Sherlockians and Holmesians as they consider some of the minutiae in the stories. The best of the best. We're calling this series "Masters Class."   In this inaugural episode, we look at an award-winning article from Baker Street Irregular and legendary science fiction writer Poul Anderson, on the archetype of Sherlock Holmes. From Archimedes to Merlin to Tolkien and a little farther into the future, it's just a Trifle.     Don't forget: Patreon supporters are eligible for two regular drawings, courtesy of our sponsor The Baker Street Journal. Go to patreon.com/trifles. Sponsor: The Baker Street Journal   Full show notes: ihose.co/trifles264    

"I am one of the hounds" [STUD]   On two occasions in the Sherlock Holmes stories do we find Holmes employing a dog to help him track a scent. But beyond those two, Holmes himself displays canine-like properties.   While Conan Doyle does a wonderful job exposing us to so much of the late Victorian era, there's one area that doesn't come through: smells. What were some of the scents that attracted Holmes's attention on these cases, and why were they important? It's just a Trifle.     NOTE: Be sure to catch the announcement of two regular drawings courtesy of our sponsor The Baker Street Journal, and how you can qualify.   Full show notes: https://ihose.co/trifles263 Support Trifles: https://patreon.com/trifles Sponsor: The eBSJ

"On the very day that I had come to this conclusion" [STUD]  It all began with a chance meeting between two medical school colleagues at the Criterion Bar. Stamford then took Watson to St Bartholomew's Hospital (aka "Barts"), where, in a chemical laboratory, he made the acquaintance of one Sherlock Holmes. In Season 6, we're bringing back our monthly series "Mr. Sherlock Holmes the Theorist," in which we use historic Sherlockian scholarship as a discussion point. In this case, we were inspired by William S. Baring-Gould's "The London of Holmes and Watson" in Vol. 9, No. 3 (1959) of The Baker Street Journal. We explore this fateful meeting, delve into the history of its time-honored location, and determine the exact date of its occurrence. It's just a Trifle. NOTE: Be sure to catch the announcement of two regular drawings courtesy of our sponsor The Baker Street Journal, and how you can qualify. Full show notes: https://ihose.co/trifles262 Support Trifles: https://patreon.com/trifles

“nothing but a welcome for my friend and colleague” [TWIS]   The great heroes of literature are frequently teamed up with a sidekick: Don Quixote with Sancho Panza, Robinson Crusoe with Friday, Huckleberry Finn with Tom Sawyer. But the key to these pairings is an underlying friendship.   In the final episode of Season 5, we take a look at one of the most obvious features of the Sherlock Holmes canon: the friendship between Holmes and Watson. It's just a Trifle.     Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles260 "The Friendship Club" by Charles E. Lauterbach, The 1958 Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on Patreon   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 curiously reptilian fashion” [FINA]   Aside from vipers, cobras, and adders, there are other reptiles in the Sherlock Holmes stories that either have a bearing on cases or are mentioned in passing. We're even able to find an amphibian or two.   In this final episode of our Exotic Animals series in Season 5, we visit the Reptile House and explore what the Victorians knew (or didn't know) about these creatures, hoping not to rouse anyone's snakish temper. It's just a Trifle.     Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles260 Frog (fastening) Previous episodes mentioned: Episode 14: Its Snakish Temper Episode 225: Viper / Wiper Episode 242: Worms Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on Patreon   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   --  

“Homes seldom laughed.” [MAZA]     Sherlock Holmes could be deadly serious. As in his encounter with Professor Moriarty, his matter-of-fact explanations, and when Watson wrote "Holmes seldom laughed" in "The Mazarin Stone."   But was Sherlock Holmes really all that humorless? Fortunately, we have decades of Watson's chronicles from which to choose. Let's get into it. After all, it's just a Trifle.     Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles259 Data! (Futility Closet) Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on Patreon   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   --  

“Holmes pointed to the street lamp” [SIXN]   It's impossible to think about Victorian London without imagining street lamps. We're most familiar with the gas-powered versions, but there were other iterations before.    What was the origin of London's famous gas-lamps, and which Sherlock Holmes stories do they feature in? It's just a Trifle.   We also have an announcement about a special episode only for our Patreon supporters. Be sure you're on board to take part in that.     Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles258 Boulevardier recipe Inspiration from "A Light on the Problem" by Nicholas Utechin from "Occasionally to Embellish"  The gas-lamp scene in Charlie Chaplin's Easy Street A history of gas-lamps Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on Patreon   Sponsor The BSI Press   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative

“she confessed with distress” [LADY]   Sherlock Holmes took on clients of all sorts, often when they were puzzled, had nowhere else to turn, or were particularly worried.   And three ladies in particular in the Canon were worried. But they stand head and shoulders above some of the other female victims we find. Who are they and in which stories do they appear? It's just a Trifle.   We also have an announcement about a special episode only for our Patreon supporters. Be sure you're on board to take part in that.   Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles257 Previous episodes mentioned: Episode 185 - The Women of Influence Episode 190 - The Working Girls Episode 194 - The Ladies in Waiting Episode 199 - The Victims Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on Patreon   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

“a love-story or an elopement” [SIGN]     We don't think of the Sherlock Holmes stories as being romances, and yet there are elements of romance that find their way into these tales about complicated human relationships at all levels.   We look across a handful of stories to tease out the romantic elements and love interests in them. It's just a Trifle.   We also have an announcement about a special episode only for our Patreon supporters. Be sure you're on board to take part in that.     Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles256 Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on Patreon   Sponsor The BSI Press   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0   --  

“a fierce old bird of prey” [SPEC]    Birds are part of British life. Such is the reality of living on an island. And there were a great variety of birds we hear about in the Sherlock Holmes stories.   While many of them were commonplace and part of the hunting and dining habits in Victorian England, there were others that were a little more exotic. It's just a Trifle.   We also have an announcement about a special episode only for our Patreon supporters. Be sure you're on board to take part in that.   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.    Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles255 Inspired by Donald Jewell's A Few Hours to the Birds: A Monograph on Birds and Birding in the Time of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 2 in The Sherlock Holmes Natural History Series (Pinchin Lane Press, 1991) Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support u

“You’re crazy!” [DANC]  Sherlock Holmes had his eccentricities, without a question. Many scholars over the years have debated his mental health, with a wide variety of diagnoses.   But there has been a suggestion that a physical condition in Holmes and its treatment may very well have masked another disorder—one of the mind rather than the body. It's just a Trifle.     Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles254 Inspired by "Was Sherlock Holmes Crazy?" by Gideon Hill, BSI ("Dr. Hill Barton") in 70 Years By Gaslamp - The Illustrious Clients' Sixth Casebook Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on Patreon   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   --  

“to produce his meretricious finales” [BLAN]  There are a number of times in the 60 Sherlock Holmes stories when Holmes criticizes Watson's efforts as a writer. Holmes takes the view of a practitioner, while Watson is trying to reach a different audience.   Indeed, it's when Holmes himself attempts to fill in for Watson that he finds just how difficult it is. Were Watson's conclusions meretricious, or were they in service of Holmes's abilities? It's just a Trifle.     Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles253 Inspired by "Meretricious Effects?" by Vincent W. Wright in 70 Years By Gaslamp - The Illustrious Clients' Sixth Casebook Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on Patreon   Sponsor The BSI Press   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0   --  

“hereditary tendencies of the most diabolical kind” [FINA]  Family matters a great deal in the Sherlock Holmes stories, although we don't discover anything about Holmes and his family background until halfway through the stories that make up The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, where we meet Mycroft.   And yet, there were many instances in which family bloodlines gave Holmes an indication of what he was looking for. It's just a Trifle.     Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles252 Inspired by "Pooled Resources" on I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on Patreon   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 pin, a cork, and a card” [HOUN]   When it came to exotic insects, butterflies were all the rage in Victorian England. They were sought after by naturalists and collectors, to become part of collections in studies as well as institutions.   We have a few collectors in the Canon who made it their business to pin butterflies to cork and display them. Here's what we know about them and about their hobby. 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.  Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles251 Inspired by Donald Girard Jewell's Butterflies & Blind Beetles, #4 in the Sherlock Holmes Natural History Series Norm MacDonald's moth joke (YouTube) Other episodes mentioned: I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 226: Sherlockian Collecting Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on Patreon   Sponsor The Baker S

 “extraordinary stories about your financial ability” [STOC]  Money was occasionally a concern for Sherlock Holmes. But when, and more importantly, why? All of those police engagements were likely pro bono work, after all.   His relationship with Watson began over the need to economize, and over the course of his career, he enjoyed some remarkably wealthy individuals as clients. 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.  Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles250 Inspired by Ian McQueen's Sherlock Holmes Detected "Thinking About Money in the Sherlock Holmes Stories" by Christopher Redmond (I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere) Previous money-related episodes mentioned: Episode 75: Fiscal Holmes Episode 121: Old Money Episode 201: Expenses Episode 226: Money Woes Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on 

 “Have you noticed anything amiss with them of late?” [SILV]  "The Three Gables" isn't likely to be found on anyone's "best of" list of Sherlock Holmes stories. It arrives late in the Canon, and rather weakly at that.   But it is worth pointing out a few items within that are rather curious. One might even call them 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.    Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles249 Inspired by Bob Byrnes' work in Baker Street Essays, Vol 1 No. 1  Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on Patreon   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 was her plot as much as mine” [ABBE]  From the realm of conjecture: what if the star-crossed lovers in "The Adventure of Abbey Grange" and "The Problem of Thor Bridge" weren't simply victims of circumstance? What if the damsels in distress weren't being unfairly persecuted?    That is, what if they plotted the demise of the hated member of their love triangle and were able to fool Sherlock Holmes? 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.    Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles248 Inspired by Bob Byrnes' work in Baker Street Essays, Vol 1 No. 1 and Vol II No. 1. Previous episodes mentioned:  Episode 245: How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? Episode 180: The Eternal Triangle Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on Patreon   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music credits Performers: Un

“Maybe you collect yourself, sir” [EMPT]  Sherlock Holmes shared his reading interests on occasion, and they tended to be wide and varied. Some of them were for professional development purposes, yet others seem to exist to expand his thinking.   Was Sherlock Holmes a book collector? And if he was, what kind of care did he take for his volumes? 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.    Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles247 Sherlock Holmes: Rare Book Collector by Madeline Stern “Ex Libris Sherlock Holmes” by Howard Collins in Profile by Gaslight “The Empty Bookshelf: or, the Missing Three Quartos: Reasonable Editions at a Comfortable Price” by Robert D. Madison, The Baker Street Journal, Vol. 71, No. 2 (2021) Previous episode mentioned: Episode 62: Reference Sources Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Supp

“pinned like a beetle on a card” [BLAC]  It's the third week of the month, and that means it's the exotic animal episode. Last month we covered worms, and we mentioned the slow-worm, which Mr. Sherman said kept the beetles down.   A listener called in with a comment on that episode, and it led to this one, where we look at this detestable insect, its place in Victorian England, and how it spread. 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.  Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles246 Inspired by Donald Jewell's Butterflies and Blind Beetles: Vol. 4 of the Sherlock Holmes Natural History Series German cockroach (Wikipedia) Croton bug (Epehemeral New York) Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on Patreon   Sponsor The e-BSJ   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Pu

“passionate, whole-hearted, tropical, ill-balanced” [THOR]    Maria Gibson (nee Pinto) was a troubled woman. What could have driven her to her final acts? Is she a victim? A villain? A sympathetic character?    If anything she was less two-dimensional than she is typically assumed to be. Could her demise have indeed been a murder rather than a suicide? 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.    Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles245 Inspired by Bob Byrnes' Baker Street Essays, Vol. II, Issue 1 Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on Patreon   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   --