Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

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Music in the Canon, Part 1: Composers and Their Works Aug 28, 2019

Show notes

"a composer of no ordinary merit." [REDH]

From the very beginning of the Sherlock Holmes stories, we know that Sherlock Holmes plays the violin. It's one of the personality traits he admits to Watson and that Watson later chronicles.

In addition to Holmes's own performances, we come across a number of other composers and their works in the Canon. Who and what were they? It's just a Trifle.

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This episode: ihose.co/trifles139
Les Huguenots by Meyerbeer (Wikipedia)
"That little thing of Chopin" (Camden House)
Offenbach - "Barcarolle" from The Tales of Hoffmann (YouTube)
Other episodes mentioned in this episode:
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The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

Russians and Sherlock Holmes Aug 21, 2019

Show notes

"a man might as well live in Russia" [VALL]

The connections between Sherlock Holmes an Russia—in the Sherlock Holmes stories themselves, as least—would seem to be limited. Yet it provides much information for a robust discussion.

From exported goods to crimes from two decades previous, we encounter a smattering of mentions of the Land of Rus. What do they tell us about Sherlock Holmes? And what was happening in the world at the time? It's just a Trifle.

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Links / Notes

This episode: ihose.co/trifles138
Russia leather
Little Russia
The eBSJ
A Russian Sherlock Holmes cartoon and another animated Russian Sherlock Holmes in translation
The Wrong Passage
Other episodes mentioned in this episode:
- I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 50: Golden Passage
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The BSI Press

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

Ahoy! Rowing, Boating and Yachting Aug 14, 2019

Show notes

"He started in his little yacht" [BLAC]

There are plenty of instances of maritime transportation in the Sherlock Holmes stories. But when it comes to pleasure crafts, we're left with a scant few.

The use various boats for leisure and sporting activities is present sporadically throughout the Canon, so you have to pay attention. We investigate these few instances, plus a supposition. It is of course a trifle.

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Links / Notes

This episode: ihose.co/trifles137
The Boat Race
Interview with Robert Stephens in Michael Pointer's Playing Sherlock Holmes: Interviews with John Wood, Robert Stephens, and Christopher Lee. (Amazon)
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The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

John Watson's Youth - Part 2 Aug 07, 2019

Show notes

"you were on the battlefield" [BLAN]

In the last episode, Robert Katz, BSI began to take us through his theory of where Dr. Watson spent his early years. He used the facts given to us by Watson himself, combined with the reasoning of Sherlock Holmes to arrive at some conclusions.

This week, he brings us the other half of the story: after Watson moved from Australia to America, he tells us about the connection with Henry Ward Beecher and Watson's heroics on U.S. soil.

It's just a trifle.

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Links / Notes

This episode: ihose.co/trifles136
Get your own "Signs of Four" merchandise from our store. Over 20 designs to choose from on mugs and a variety of colored t-shirts. Special Summer sale happening now - 25% off with code SUMMER.

Sponsor

The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

John Watson's Youth - Part 1 Jul 31, 2019

Show notes

"I travelled in my youth" [TWIS]

We know little about Dr. Watson's life, aside from what he managed to tell us. Yes, he was in the Army's medical department. Yes, he was wounded. And he needed to find a flatmate to be able to afford London on his pension.

But what about beyond that? Sherlock Holmes was able to make some inferences from a watch that Watson's brother bequeathed to him. There are a few other clues here and there to give us a scent to pick up. And Robert Katz, BSI joins us to begin to weave those threads together.

It's just a trifle.

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Links / Notes

This episode: ihose.co/trifles135
Get your own "Signs of Four" merchandise from our store. Over 20 designs to choose from on mugs and a variety of colored t-shirts. Special Summer sale happening now - 25% off with code SUMMER.

Sponsor

The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

South Americans and Sherlock Holmes Jul 24, 2019

Show notes

"her people have been leaders in Pernambuco for generations" [3GAB]

South America and its exotic tropical climate is about as far removed from the dampness of England as one can find. Its collective countries stand in juxtaposition to proper Victorian customs, and anything in the Sherlock Holmes stories that touches South America is suspect.

We look at some of the men and women associated with the continent that is mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, and the implications for each story.

It's just a trifle.

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Links / Notes

This episode: ihose.co/trifles134
Get your own "Signs of Four" merchandise from our store. Over 20 designs to choose from on mugs and a variety of colored t-shirts. Special Summer sale happening now - 25% off with code SUMMER.

Sponsor

The BSI Press

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

Boarding Houses Jul 17, 2019

Show notes

"a boarding house that was recommended" [VALL]

When traveling or settling into a city for a bit, Victorians had options. Hotels were commonplace, but could be expensive. So what's a reasonable alternative? A boarding house!

There were two stories in which mysterious boarders caught the attention of Sherlock Holmes, and his visits with their landladies proved fruitful for Watson's writing. What do we know about these, and other instances of boarding houses in the Sherlock Holmes stories?

It's just a trifle.

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Links / Notes

This episode: ihose.co/trifles133
Boarding house (Wikipedia)
Lodging Houses (The Dictionary of Victorian London)
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The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

Billiards Jul 10, 2019

Show notes

"Come into the billiard-room and have a quiet cigar." [GLOR]

Rack 'em up! Our monthly discussion of games and sports turns to billiards.

While the game itself is mentioned once in a significant way, there are a number of times when a room dedicated to the activity pops up in the Sherlock Holmes stories. What is it about billiards that captured English attention during this time period?

It's just a trifle.

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Links / Notes

This episode: ihose.co/trifles132
Cue sports (Wikipedia)
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The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

Image credit

The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia

Why Thank You Jul 03, 2019

Show notes

"he sang your praises very loudly" [STOC]

As early as A Study in Scarlet, we discover that Sherlock Holmes "was as sensitive to flattery on the score of his art as any girl could be of her beauty." Then once again toward the end of the Canon, in "The Red Circle," Watson reminds us that "Holmes was accessible upon the side of flattery."

We previously covered some of the insults and invective that Holmes had to endure. But what about praise? What about epithets that were acclamatory rather than derogatory. It is just a trifle.

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Links / Notes

This episode: ihose.co/trifles131
Episode 91 - How Insulting
Steve Clarkson's The Canonical Compendium
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The Baker Street Journal

Music credits

Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra

Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band

Watson's Club Jun 26, 2019

Show notes

"a member of an aristocratic club" [BERY]

From golf clubs to gentlemen's clubs...

Ask any Sherlockian to name a club in the Canon and they'll invariably say the Diogenes Club (that's right after Tonga's club. You don't have to be a Penang lawyer to get that one.). And there were a number of fictional clubs as well.

But one club that gets just a passing mention is Watson's club. Which one was it? Speculation abounds, so we gave it a shot. It's just a trifle.

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We're available everywhere you listen to podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, and RadioPublic.

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Links / Notes

This episode: ihose.co/trifles130
The Gentlemen's Clubs of London (Amazon)
List of gentlemen's clubs in London (Wikipedia)
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