Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

Latest Episodes:

The Mathematics of Mrs. Watson Mar 20, 2025

Show notes

"As to your dates, that is the biggest mystification of all." [CREE] It's not often that we get a piece of Sherlockian scholarship that had its origin in a mainstream publication. And in this case, it's from one of the original Sherlockians. In 1932, Ronald Knox set out to review two new Sherlockian books, but he managed to turn it into an essay that was a master class in chronology. It's just a Trifle. And stay tuned, as we have some bonus content on Ronald Knox for our supporters. 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

Ronald Knox and Sherlock Holmes: The Origin of Sherlockian Studies
Baker Street Miscellanea
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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

British Businesses Mar 13, 2025

Show notes

"preoccupied with business matters" [COPP]

If you came across the name of a business in the Sherlock Holmes stories, do you think you could identify which story it came from? What about the type of business it was?

We put your Canonical skills to the test in this episode as we quiz you (and each other!) on some familiar and not-so-familiar business names from the Great Britain of Sherlock Holmes. 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. Download | 24.4 MB, 26:00 Leave Trifles a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify; listen to us wherever you listen to podcasts. Links / Notes

Bush Up Your Shakespeare (YouTube)
Previous 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

My Biblical Knowledge Is a Trifle Rusty Mar 06, 2025

Show notes

"There is nothing in which deduction is so necessary as in religion" [NAVA]

The Morley-Montgomery Award-winning article this month is "My Biblical Knowledge is a Trifle Rusty" by Henry T. Folsom, BSI ("The Golden Pince-Nez"), from The Baker Street Journal, Volume 15, No. 3.

Rev. Folsom took the opportunity as a practitioner of the faith to examine the religious beliefs (or lack thereof) of Sherlock Holmes. Was he an atheist? Was he a believer? And if so, what form did it take? 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

The Morley-Montgomery Award
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 Field Bazaar (The Apocrypha Part 1) Feb 27, 2025

Show notes

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

We're starting a short series on the Apocrypha of Sherlock Holmes: stories that are not in the Canonical 60 but that have some relevant interest.

The first installment is "The Field Bazaar," written by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1896 for his alma mater. It's a short item and it provides some insights into the habits of Holmes and Watson. And it's just a Trifle.

The Field Bazaar
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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

Disguise Is Key Feb 19, 2025

Show notes

"see through a disguise" [HOUN]

The third episode of every month is a look into a piece of Sherlockian scholarship, and this time it brings us to Vol. 64 No. 3 of The Baker Street Journal from 2014 with a piece by Maria Fleischhack, BSI ("Rache").

In this article, Maria looks at various Germans in the Sherlock Holmes stories and tracks the disguises or aliases they used, in conjunction with Conan Doyle's own attitude toward Germans and Germans' attitudes toward the English. It's just a Trifle.

The Baker Street Journal
Previous episode mentioned: Episode 108 - Germans and Sherlock Holmes
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

Banks in the Canon Feb 13, 2025

Show notes

"drawn on six different banks" [VALL]

Banks and bankers are important to Sherlock Holmes. From clients to necessary fiduciaries, they represent an essential part of the real and Canonical worlds.

Which banks are mentioned? What bankers do we meet? And what about one very specific bank to which we owe a debt of gratitude? 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're adding "Trifling Trifles" — short-form content that doesn't warrant a full episode — as an additional channel of content exclusively for our paying subscribers. Don't miss it! 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

Jay Finley Christ — An Old Irregular
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 Methods of Sherlock Holmes Feb 05, 2025

Show notes

"You know my methods. Apply them!" [HOUN]

In 1893, a curious entry appeared in the Tit-Bits magazine: an examination paper on the methods of Sherlock Holmes. A cash prize was offered to the winner (whom we know).

The author of the quiz, though? That's been unknown for nearly a century and a half. Until Michael Meer came along and made an identification that earned him the Morley-Montgomery Award for 2024. It's just a Trifle.

The Morley-Montgomery Award
Previous episodes mentioned:
- Episode 163: Victorian Vegetarians
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

Baritsu Jan 30, 2025

Show notes

"the Japanese system of wrestling" [EMPT]

When Sherlock Holmes defeated Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls, he had a secret weapon: his knowledge of a certain style of Japanese wrestling.

Of course, we don't find this out until his return, and even then, Watson (or is it Holmes?) conveys the wrong name. It's just a Trifle.

Bartitsu (Wikipedia)
The Bartitsu Club
The Bartitsu Society: Preserving and Extending the Martial Arts Legacy of Edward William Barton-Wright
Bartitsu: The Gentlemanly Art of Self-Defence (YouTube)
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

Turkish Baths Jan 23, 2025

Show notes

"the sweat was pouring down my face" [BLUE]

Turkish baths come up in just two of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Quick—without looking it up, can you name which? We know Watson enjoys both of them; Holmes joins him for one.

In this episode, we discuss the origins and history of the Turkish bath, and specifically focus on the Victorian Turkish bath. Sit back and relax. This is just a Trifle.

Victorian Turkish baths (Wikipedia)
In Hot Water with Watson (Margie Deck)
Everything You Need to Know Before Your First Turkish Bath Experience (Matador Network)
Soupy Sales sings "Pachalafaka" (YouTube)
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

Who Wasn't Jack the Ripper Jan 15, 2025

Show notes

"when you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth" [SIGN]

In our monthly discussion of an old piece of Sherlockian scholarship, we find ourselves in the back alleys of Whitechapel, discussing Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes.

Our source of this discussion is not one but two back-to-back articles from The Baker Street Journal, Vol. 17, No. 4 from 1967. The first is "Who Wasn't Jack the Ripper" by Bruce Dettman, and the second is "Jack in Abyss" by Bruce Kenedy. Both are just Trifles.

Just for our supporters: photos of William S. Baring-Gould's Sherlock Holmes Society of London tie and supporting documentation. Bruce Kennedy inherited the tie and it is now in Scott's collection. See them on Patreon or Substack.

The Baker Street Journal
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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