Sherlock Holmes: Trifles

"enormous sums of money" [SILV]   Here's one of those things that lends itself to the title of this podcast. We were thinking about Professor Moriarty and his ignominious fall from grace. After he left the university where he was Mathematical Chair, he came to London, where he became an army coach. Army coach? That brought a number of things to mind. But surprisingly little has been written about it. We explore this trifle and reach a couple of reasonable conclusions.     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/trifles160 British Army During the Victorian Era (Wikipedia) "Professor James Moriarty, 1836-91" by Nicholas Utechin (The Baker Street Journal

"As to your dates, that is the biggest mystification of all." [CREE]   With Season 4, we're starting a new monthly series that we're calling "Mr. Sherlock Holmes the Theorist." Each month, we'll be taking a look at what some early Sherlockian scholars had to say about certain trifling elements in the Sherlock Holmes stories. In this case, we're looking at "The Date of The Sign of Four" from H.W. Bell's Baker Street Studies, first published in 1934.  It's more than 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/trifles159 Baker Street Studies by H.W. Bell The Grand Game from the BSI Press   Sponsor The BSI Press   Music credits Performers:

"cuisine is a little limited" [NAVA]   We find a smattering of food references throughout the Sherlock Holmes stories. But which can be considered consummate British dishes?   We don't come across toad in the hole, bubble and squeak, or cock-a-leekie soup, but there are other meals that are considered British. And by more than the virtue of appearing in British stories. Which food might this be? It's more than 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/trifles158 Episode 42: A Noble Supper I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 103: Al and Julie Rosenblatt Superb English Plum Pudding (Epicurious) William Banting (Wikipedia) Food Timeline: Sandwic

"befogged in mind" [SIGN]   Weather conditions not only play a part in the settings of the Sherlock Holmes stories, but in some cases, they determine the plots as well. Fog, London and Baker Street seem to go hand in hand in 1890s London, but London's fogs are more than weather conditions. How did fog color Sherlock Holmes's view of the criminal world, and which stories saw an impact from this misty and mysterious phenomenon? 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/trifles157 Great Smog of London (Wikipedia) Pea-souper (Wikipedia)   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US M

"I am a born sportsman" [LAST]   In a lifetime crammed with high adventure, his brilliant achievements in crime detection obscured his remarkable skills as an athlete. He was an expert with singlestick and foil, a fine boxer, equally accomplished with rifle and small arms and had a knowing eye for horseflesh. In this final installment in our 2019 series on games and sports, we turn to William S. Baring-Gould, the subject of this year's Baker Street Journal Christmas Annual, and talk through his landmark article for Sports Illustrated article from 1963. 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/trifles156 "Sherlock Holmes, Sportsman" 

"his whole Bohemian soul" [SCAN]   The last in our series of episodes on international interactions with Sherlock Holmes brings us to the now-defunct kingdom of Bohemia. It was so important that it got its own scandal. What do we know about this land from which the masked king came? And of the adjective "Bohemian"? How did Bohemians come to signify the unconventional? 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/trifles155 Bohemia (Wikipedia) 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. HURRY! Get your holiday orders in now. This store closes at the end o

"I was alone." [BLAN]   Sherlock Holmes was occasionally without his Boswell. Watson was married at least twice – some scholars even claim there was a third Mrs. Watson. Was Holmes truly affected by Watson's absence? There is a subtle time lapse that may give away how Holmes dealt with a matrimonial Watson. And a look at how Holmes dealt with solitude earlier in his life. 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/trifles154 Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street: A Life of the World's First Consulting Detective by William S. Baring-Gould Get your own "Signs of Four" merchandise from our store. Over 20 designs to choose from on mugs and a vari

"the only selfish action which I can recall in our association" [BLAN]   Sherlock Holmes was a loner. An independent consultant. An automaton. But he also shared rooms with Dr. Watson off and on for over 20 years. When Watson went off and got married, how did this affect Holmes, really? And Watson had how many wives? 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/trifles153 Baker Street Elementary – One Is the Loneliest Number 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. HURRY! Get your holiday orders in now. This store closes at the end of 2019.  

"his strange headgear" [SPEC]   Sherlock Holmes is synonymous with a certain type of hat. We don't need to mention the kind. You know what it is. But he never wore one in the stories, which you probably also know. But what about some of the other hats that were mentioned by name in the Canon? It's kind of a hat check name check in this episode. And 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/trifles152 Bowler hat Wideawake hat 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. HURRY! This store closes at the end of 2019.   Sponsor The Baker Street Journal

"from their East Indian colonies" [RESI]   "Asian" isn't a term that pops up in the Sherlock Holmes canon. And yet we meet a handful of individuals who lived in or interacted with residents of the largest continent on the planet. We hear of Asian countries such as Japan, China, Afghanistan, Andaman Islands, Ceylon, the Dutch East Indies, India, Tibet, Nepal, Persia, Siam, Malay, Singapore, Turkey, and Syria. Who were some of these people and why do so many of their stories involve something nefarious? 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/trifles151 Before the East India Company (Lapham's Quarterly) Get your own "Signs of Four" m

"Going for a swim, I see." [LION]   How many swimmers do we encounter in the Sherlock Holmes stories? Given that only one story is centered around an ill-fated swim, you might think you know the answer. Then again, you might be mistaken. Allow us to turn over the Canon in our minds for other references to swimming. And what do we know about swimming habits in the late Victorian / early Edwardian era? 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/trifles150 Bathing machine (Wikipedia) Swimming in the Victorian Era (PDF) A Social History of Swimming in England, 1800-1918 (Reviews in History) Get your own "Signs of Four" merchandise from ou

"you had been out in vile weather" [SCAN]   Think about the number of times we come across inclement weather in the Sherlock Holmes stories. It's almost like the cliched "It was a dark and stormy night." How often do we find that harsh weather conditions run parallel to some tempestuous conditions in various Canonical households?  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/trifles149 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.    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 is always awkward doing business with an alias." [BLUE]   Back in Episode 96, we chatted about the many disguises and other identities of Sherlock Holmes. But what about other people in the Canon who played dress-up? Whether they were trying to dupe one of his clients or Sherlock Holmes himself, these individuals each had good reasons to be incognito. It's just a trifle. Have you left us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts yet?  We're available everywhere you listen to podcasts.   And please consider supporting our efforts through Patreon or Substack.   Links / Notes This episode: ihose.co/trifles148 Episode 96: Trick or Treat Get your own Sherlockian merch from our store.    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

"this young stranger from Canada" [HOUN]   Canadians are so polite. Why, Sir Henry barely complained of being killed by his family's legendary spectral hound. Where do we find Canadians and Canadian influences in the Sherlock Holmes stories? There aren't terribly many instances, but there are just enough to be a Trifle.   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/trifles147 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.    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 very different level to your Majesty" [SCAN]  "The Adventure of the Dancing Men" has a similar theme to that of "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor": a British gentleman and his flighty American bride with her checkered past. Is there some lesson implied here about the importance of sticking with one's own tribe and class? And what other instances in the Sherlock Holmes stories stand out as examples of the separation of classes in Victorian society? 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/trifles146 Get your own "Signs of Four" merchandise from our store. Over 20 designs to choose from on mugs and a variety of colored t-shirt

"excellent wild-duck shooting" [GLOR]  When we think of English country estates, it's only natural to think of outdoor activities. In many cases this included the pastimes of hunting and shooting. Where in the Sherlock Holmes stories do we find the landed gentry headed off to bring down some quarry that the gamekeeper has stocked? Our monthly series on games and sports take us on this wild goose chase that'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/trifles144 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.    Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Musi

"three times repeated" [FIVE]  There's a familiar plot device that runs throughout a number of Sherlock Holmes stories. That number is three, but do you know which stories make use of it? We discuss this recurring theme, where it's the most convincing, and why humans get hoodwinked by such arrangements. 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/trifles144 Shakespeare's sources of inspiration I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere Episode 91: The Confidence Game 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.    Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music credi

"he was bearded" [SIGN]   Well this is embarrassing. As we finished our editing and prepared to leave for a business trip, we realized one critical fact about this topic: we've already talked about it (in Episode 105). Nevertheless, we suggest you listen and perhaps compare and contrast the two episodes. Yes, there may be a little overlap, but the discussion goes to show how the Sherlock Holmes stories allow us to riff on one topic again and again. 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/trifles143 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. 

"he still made India too hot to hold him" [EMPT]  India is a wonderful land. And it plays a part in a number of Sherlock Holmes stories. Certainly, it's a center point in The Sign of Four, but where else do we find the influence of India in the Canon?    In our regular feature of international influences in the Sherlock Holmes stories, we learn about battles, cities, districts and other Indian curiosities. 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/trifles142 Pondicherry (Wikipedia) Bhurtee - the Siege of Cawnpore (Wikipedia) Get your own "Signs of Four" merchandise from our store. Over 20 designs to choose from on mugs and a variet

"I'm a bit of a single-stick expert, as you know" [ILLU]  In listing Sherlock Holmes's limits in A Study in Scarlet, Dr. Watson indicates that Holmes is something of an amateur sportsman: "11. Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman." In this latest entry in our Games and Sports series, we look at singlestick and its relation to other pastimes and run-ins 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.  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/trifles141 Singlestick (Wikipedia) 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.    Sponsor The Baker Street Journal