Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

Latest Episodes:

The Archaelogical Holmes May 28, 2025

Show notes

"I am a bit of an archaeologist myself" [3GAR]

We find ourselves digging into a reference in "The Devil's Foot" in this episode, with the help of a pair of Sherlockian scholars.

Poul and Karen Anderson explore the truth behind Sherlock Holmes's claim to be researching the origins of the ancient Cornish language. Where might the language have originated from? It's just a Trifle.

We also continue conversing about one of our sidebars in this episode in a separate bonus clip just for our supporters (Patreon | Substack).

Don't forget to listen to "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode. This is a benefit exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts Links

All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

The Back Yards of Baker Street May 21, 2025

Show notes

"I went into the back yard" [BLUE]

The third week of the month means we look at a piece of Sherlockian scholarship — particularly one that may not be as widely read or generally available to most Sherlock Holmes fans.

This month, we're looking at Bernard Davies' "The Back Yards of Baker Street," which appeared in James Edward Holroyd's Seventeen Steps to 221B. Step with us through the alleyways of 1895 to see if we can make a proper identification. It's just a Trifle.

Seventeen Steps to 221B by James Edward Holroyd (Abebooks)
All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Capital Punishment May 14, 2025

Show notes

"You have done your best to get an innocent man hanged." [NORW]

Capital punishment in the United Kingdom evolved over a period of time. From the mid-17th century through 1820, the Bloody Code tracked some 200 crimes punishable by death.

In which Sherlock Holmes stories do we hear about capital punishment, and under England's laws of the late Victorian period, who would have been eligible for death by hanging? It's just a Trifle.

Capital punishment in the United Kingdom (Wikipedia)
11 Ridiculous Crimes That Carried the Death Penalty Before Queen Victoria (Ranker)
Other episodes mentioned:

Episode 301 - Sherlock Holmes and Australians

All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

The Solitary Man-Uscript May 07, 2025

Show notes

"so ardent a bicyclist must be full of energy" [SOLI]

The latest installment in our review of Morley-Montgomery Award-winning articles is by Andrew Jay Peck, BSI ("Inspector Baynes"): "The Solitary Man-Uscript" from Vol. 22, No. 2 of The Baker Street Journal in 1972.

Just who was the Solitary Cyclist? There are two cyclists in the story, and one is a young lady simply trying to get to her train safely; the other is a bearded man with sunglasses hunched over his handlebars. Only one of them can be our cyclist. It's just a Trifle.

Don't forget to check out our "Trifling Trifles" series -- shorter content that didn't warrant a full episode, available exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts Links

Sherlock Holmes Manuscripts: Census (Best of Sherlock)
The BSI Press Manuscript Series
The Morley-Montgomery Award
The Morley-Montgomery Award series of episodes (Patreon | Substack)
All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

An Aborted Avatar Apr 30, 2025

Show notes

"a strange, loud whiz" [EMPT]

We came across a quite unusual observation — a Trifle, if you will — in an old issue of The Baker Street Journal. An article by Antony Boucher called "An Aborted Avatar."

Boucher discovered a turn of the century play called The King of Gee-Whiz that involved Sherlock Holmes in a quite unusual setting. The play was co-written by L. Frank Baum, of The Wizard of Oz fame. It's just a Trifle.

Another "Trifling Trifles" episode — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — is coming your way in a few days. As a reminder, this is exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts Links

Anthony Boucher (Wikipedia)
The King of Gee-Whiz (Project Gutenberg)
All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Gypsies Apr 23, 2025

Show notes

"general resemblance to an itinerant" [VALL]

A term we don't hear as frequently these days is "gypsy." Unless you're headed to see a Sondheim musical, which is about an entirely different Gypsy (and one with Sherlockian connections too).

Anyway, our focus here is on stories in which gypsies are mentioned (there are two; can you name them?) and a bit of historical context of gypsies in the Victorian era, including the documented experience of one exalted person. It's just a Trifle.

Gypsies, Roma, or Travellers (Victorian Web)
Queen Victoria's Journals (Romani)
All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

On Stage and Off Apr 16, 2025

Show notes

"before my biographer had come to glorify me" [GREE]

Once again, we find ourselves in a "Mr. Sherlock Holmes the theorist"-themed episode, where we look at a piece of old scholarship. This time, we share a chapter from William S. Baring-Gould's groundbreaking biography of Sherlock Holmes. Chapter V "On Stage and Off in England and America: 1879–1881" finds us in the two years leading up to Holmes and Watson meeting each other, while Holmes was beginning to run low on funds. His decision would mean a remarkable set of experiences ahead. It's just a Trifle.

And we have some bonus content related to a particular footnote of Baring-Gould's in this chapter. It's available exclusively for our supporters. Another "Trifling Trifles" episode — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — is coming your way in a few days. As a reminder, this is exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts Links

Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: A Life of the World's First Consulting Detective by William S. Baring-Gould (Abebooks)
Other episodes mentioned:

All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

The Man with the Watches (The Apocrypha Part 2) Apr 09, 2025

Show notes

"I would read as easily as I do the apocrypha" [VALL]

The second in our series on the Apocrypha of Sherlock Holmes — stories that are not in the original Canonical 60 but that have some relevant interest. In this case, we have a story written by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1898 and set in 1892 involving the mysterious death of a passenger on a train. The murderer is nowhere to be found and the man has an unusual number of watches on his person.

A "well-known criminal investigator" writes a letter to the press with an explanation. We briefly discuss the story and the many theories as to the authorship of those letters over the years by numerous Sherlockians. It's just a Trifle.

This season, we've added "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift. Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to this episode here or wherever you get podcasts Please leave us a rating and review on iTunes or Google Play, and consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or Substack. Links

The Story of the Man with the Watches (Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia)
5. The Man with the Watches & The Lost Special (Doings of Doyle)
All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

The Alleged Use of Cocaine by Mr. Sherlock Holmes Apr 03, 2025

Show notes

"you are mistaken about my alleged agents" [MAZA] Along with the calabash pipe, deerstalker cap, and Inverness cape, one of Sherlock Holmes's traits is the use of cocaine. But should it be? William H. Miller, M.D. F.A.C.P. won the Morley-Montgomery Award for his article in Vol. 19, No. 3 of The Baker Street Journal in which he asserted that we're mistaken in believing that Sherlock Holmes used cocaine. Don't believe us? Well, it's just a Trifle. All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and bonus content. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today. This season, we've added "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift. Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts. Links / Notes

Morley-Montgomery Award Winners
Previous episodes referenced:

All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

North American Businesses Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

"the great North American Continent" [STUD] Picking up where we left off in Episode 428 ("British Businesses"), we're moving to the other side of the pond and doing a survey of businesses in North America that were mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes stories. Since there are decidedly fewer scenes and stories that took place in North America, we have far fewer to choose from. But not so few as to leave us without something interesting to say! It's just a Trifle. All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and bonus content. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today. This season, we've added "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Check it out (Patreon | Substack). Do you have a topic you'd like to recommend? Email us at trifles@ihearofsherlock.com and if we use your idea on the air, we'll send you a thank-you gift. Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts. Links / Notes

Previous episodes referenced:

All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock
Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com

Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

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